Employees more likely to bring Tribunal claims again

Harrogate based Employment Law Solicitor, James Austin, gives an overview on the Supreme Court ruling that employees are no longer required to pay fees to bring Employment tribunal claims.

As most of you will have heard by now, the need for employees to pay a fee in order to bring an Employment tribunal claim has been removed after the Supreme Court ruled the fees unlawful in July 2017. This marked the end of a four year period during which employees had been required to pay up to £1,200 in order to take a claim to an Employment tribunal, meaning employees can once again issue claims without paying a fee. So what might this mean for your business and how can you combat it:

• The Tribunal Service is looking into ways of reimbursing employees who paid to issue claims. We are awaiting information on this and whether employers who were ordered to reimburse employees those fees will also be reimbursed.
• The Supreme Court stated that the fees were set at too high a level, not that fees were unlawful generally. The Government may therefore try to reintroduce fees (at a lower level) at some point in the future.
• The fees regime led to the number of claims reducing by over 70%. It seems likely that the number of claims will now revert to previous levels.
• The requirement to pay a fee meant that employers could often take a riskier or uninformed approach with less chance of facing a claim. The removal of fees increases the importance of taking advice before making decisions which impact significantly on staff. Failure to do so will probably result in a tribunal claim.
• Our LCF WORKS service provides employers with unlimited verbal and/or written employment law advice as and when required. It is charged on a fixed monthly fee so you know what you are spending.
• Joining the service reduces the prospects of having to face a tribunal claim and increases prospects of success if that can't be avoided.
• The service can be backed by a legal expenses insurance policy that covers the costs of representation and awards of damages if employers are taken to tribunals, provided they have followed our advice.

This article was written by James Austin. James is an Associate in our Employment Team and is based in Harrogate.

James advises clients on all aspects of employment law including settlement agreements and how to deal with redundancy, disciplinary, performance, grievance and TUPE issues. He has also successfully represented clients bringing/defending claims in the Employment Tribunal.

Further advice please contact James Austin on 01423 851 138 or ku.oc1714922635.fcl@1714922635nitsu1714922635a.sem1714922635aj1714922635