| The government has
outlined its plans for charging fees to
take cases to employment tribunals,
designed to cut a multi-million pound bill
for the taxpayer and ease pressure on
businesses. Justice Minister Jonathan
Djanogly launched a consultation on 14
December on two sets of proposals to
ensure that people contribute financially
for using the employment tribunal system,
which is currently entirely publicly
funded. There were 218,100 claims to
tribunals in 2010-11, costing the taxpayer
£84 million.
The proposals are also designed to help
businesses by discouraging unmerited and
unnecessary claims and encouraging early
settlement of claims.
Mr Djanogly said: “Our proposed fees
will encourage businesses and workers to
settle problems earlier, through
non-tribunal routes like conciliation or
mediation and we want to give businesses –
particularly small businesses – the
confidence to create new jobs without fear
of being dragged into unnecessary
actions.”
He added: “We believe that people
should pay a fair amount towards the cost
of their case. Fee waivers will be
available for people on low incomes to
protect access to justice.”
The government will also continue to
fund the cost of employment rights service
Acas, which helps people in employment
disputes to reach agreement without the
need for legal proceedings and is free to
users.
The two options put forward in the
consultation are:
- an initial fee of between £150-£250
for a claimant to begin a claim, with an
additional fee of between £250-£1,250 if
the claim goes to a hearing, with no
limit to the maximum award; or
- a single fee of between £200-£600,
with a £30,000 limit on the maximum
award and the option of an additional
fee of £1,750 for those who seek awards
above this amount.
In both options the tribunal would be
given the power to order the unsuccessful
party to reimburse fees paid by the
successful party.
The consultation will close in March
2012, with a view to introduce the fees
not before 2013-14.
LINKS:
Introducing fees in employment tribunals
and Employment Appeal Tribunal
|
