Union to appeal second High Court decision on tribunal fees

The trade union Unison has again been unsuccessful in its bid to overturn employment tribunal fees, but has been granted permission to appeal. The union’s first application to overturn employment tribunal fees was also rejected in February.

The High Court dismissed their subsequent application this morning, stating that: “the claims are still premature and that the very generalised nature of the statistics relied upon, with an absence of any concrete examples of specific individuals allegedly denied access to the tribunals, makes it impossible for the court to find in the claimant’s favour.”

However, the Court of Appeal had already agreed to hear Unison’s appeal of the first judgement which will now be joined with the current appeal. UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis commented: 

"The High Court's decision is disappointing but we will fight on and do everything possible to ensure that these punitive fees introduced by the government are abolished.

"Today's ruling is a real missed opportunity to ensure that all workers can afford to bring an employment tribunal claim. Since the introduction of fees last year, thousands of workers have been priced out of justice and we must not let this continue to happen."

Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna has already said that Labour will abolish the current system, whereby people must now pay a fee to issue a claim at employment tribunal, if they win the election.

For information on making a claim at employment tribunal and your rights at work, please contact Ashley Hunt, Vaishali Thakerar or Carrie-Ann Randall at Lawson-West on 0116 212 1000.

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