The Ministry of Justice has launched a consultation on proposals to provide more support with employment tribunal (ET) fees for people on lower incomes. The consultation closes on 14 March 2017.
The Government’s review of ET fees noted that that the introduction of fees broadly met its objectives:
- users are contributing between £8.5 million and £9 million a year in fee income, in line with expectations, transferring a proportion of the cost from the taxpayer to those who use the tribunal;
- more people are now using Acas’ free conciliation service than were previously using voluntary conciliation and bringing claims to the ET combined; and
- Acas’ conciliation service is effective in helping just under half the people who refer disputes to them avoid the need to go to the tribunal, and where conciliation has not worked, most people go on to issue proceedings in the ET.
However, the fall in claims has been significantly greater than was estimated when fees were first introduced.
The Equality and Diversity Forum responded to a previous consultation in March 2012, and responded to the Justice Committee inquiry into ET fees in 2015.
