Update to Unison’s Employment Tribunal Fees Judicial Review Application
19th December, 2014
Unison’s second application for Judicial Review regarding the increased Employment Tribunal fees were rejected by the High Court on Wednesday 17 December 2014, here’s why.
Unison had based their application for Judicial Review on two areas. The first was that the new tribunal fees were unlawful under the EU principle of effectiveness, stating it was virtually impossible for people to bring a claim. The second area Unison attempted to challenge the tribunal fees was that the new system is indirectly discriminatory.
Lord Justice Elias provided the leading judgement regarding the application yesterday stating the challenges to the tribunal fees were unsuccessful for the following reasons.
In response to the EU principle of effectiveness, the High Court had reviewed the application and stated that any restrictions must satisfy a proportionality test and if the hurdle served no useful purpose it would not be proportionate.
The High Court however could not take into account Unison’s challenge, as there was a lack of evidence as Unison had based their argument on statistics and not actual claimants. Therefore, the High Court would not be able to conclude whether a potential claimant was unable or unwilling to bring a claim.
In response to Unison’s challenge to the tribunal fees stating they were indirectly discriminatory the High Court stated that the difference in fees regarding a Type A claim and a Type B claim could be justified by the level of resources they required.
The High Court concluded its judgement by stating that the new tribunal fees were justified as people who use the Employment Tribunal service should contribute to the running of the service and that the changes made had made the system more efficient and encouraged settlements.
For further information and advice on changes to Employment Tribunal Fees, please contact Helen Watson on 01244 405565 or send an email to [email protected]
You might also be interested in...
Solicitors’ Professional Indemnity Insurance: Run-off and alternative regulators
18th July, 2018
Special Focus: Solicitors’ Professional Indemnity Insurance Run-off – it dominates the thoughts of sole practitioners and partners in smaller law firms in my experience and restricts the ambitions of firms. The SRA could help law firms by relaxing their rules on run-off cover on their Solicitors’ Professional Indemnity Insurance to help firms merge or close more easily. This would protect... Read More »
Senior employment lawyer joins Theatr Clwyd board
17th July, 2018
Helen Watson, Head of Employment Law at Aaron & Partners LLP, has taken up an invitation to become a Trustee of both the Trust Board and the Main Board Theatr Clwyd has bolstered its senior leadership team with the appointment of an experienced employment law solicitor to support its vision of being at the forefront of theatre making... Read More »
Why there is more to CSR than just boosting a company’s ego
6th July, 2018
When a business invests in its community it deserves praise – but it must go beyond that, writes Helen Watson, a trustee at Claire House and partner at Aaron and Partners Solicitors. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the link between a company and the community in which it operates. As a trustee on charity boards including Claire House... Read More »