Anna Lovett (Employment Law Solicitor) at MSI's Carlisle law member firm Burnetts investigates the impact of the abolition of tribunal fees in 2017 and gives her top tips to stay protected in the event of a claim.
In July 2017, the UK Supreme Court declared that employment tribunal fees were unlawful and they were then abolished with immediate effect.
It was a decision that took many by surprise, given the lengthy legal battle which had preceded it.
The legal appeal against employment tribunal fees was brought by the trade union, Unison, which argued that the introduction of employment tribunal fees in 2013 prevented many employees from being able to bring claims in the employment tribunal, especially as making a claim could incur employment tribunal fees as high as £1,200.
Following the introduction of employment tribunal fees in 2013, the number of claims being brought in the employment tribunal dropped on average by 65%.