Tribunal fees – the saga continues

As employees wanting to bring tribunal claims against their employers or former employers are still coming to terms with the new rules requiring payment of fees the High Court have announced that the request by the UNISON union for judicial review of the new fees has been scheduled for hearing on 22^nd and 23^rd October. In the meantime the new rules for allowing claimants to seek remission from fees will take effect from 7^th October. They are based on disposable capital and household income tests, both of which have to be passed to be eligible for a fee remission. 

The amount of disposable capital you can have before you lose the right to remission ranges between £3K and £16K depending on the level of fees payable. The income limits depend on whether the claimant is single or not and whether there are dependent children. The new rules also reduce to 3 months the period for making a back dated application for fee remission.

It is still too early to say what effect these fees will have on the number of claims issued and whether the funds generated will result in any improvement in current service levels.