Unison Appeals High Court Decision Regarding Tribunal Fees

Following the introduction of tribunal fees in July 2013, Unison has challenged the High Court for a second time to carry out a judicial review. Unison had felt that the fees prevented employees from accessing justice, which they argued was a breach of European Convention rights.

As highlighted in the Court transcript, Lord Justice Elias explained that;

“In this application for judicial review the trade union Unison challenges the fee scheme on two grounds. First, the union alleges that the scheme is unlawful because it infringes the EU principle of effectiveness. The cost is said to be such that it is virtually impossible or at least exceptionally difficult for a significant number of potential applicants to afford to bring a claim. Their employment rights are, it is argued, rendered illusory. Second, it is said that the fee scheme operates in an indirectly discriminatory way with respect to women, ethnic minorities and the disabled, and that the Lord Chancellor has failed to establish that the disadvantageous treatment meted out to these groups is justified.”

However it was also stated that;

“The Lord Chancellor contends that the claims are still premature and that the very generalised nature of the statistics relied upon with an absence of any concrete examples of specific individuals allegedly denied access to the tribunals, makes it impossible for the court to find in the claimant’s favour.”

Unison General Secretary David Prentis responded with the following:

“The High Court’s decision is disappointing but we will fight on and do everything possible to ensure that these punitive fees introduced by the government are abolished”
“Today’s ruling is a real missed opportunity to ensure that all workers can afford to bring an employment tribunal claim. Since the introduction of fees last year, thousands of workers have been priced out of justice and we must not let this continue to happen.” http://www.unison.org.uk/unison-to-appeal-high-court-decision-over-tribunal-fees
For the full transcript, click here.

Nonetheless, on 17th December 2014, Unison were granted permission to appeal the High Court’s decision.

Whilst every effort has been made to maintain accuracy throughout this article, Nationwide Employment Lawyers cannot accept responsibility or liability for any errors. This article is intended for guidance purposes  only and does not constitute specialist legal advice. Nationwide Employment Lawyers accept no responsibility or liability whatsoever for any action taken or not taken in relation to this article and recommend that appropriate legal advice be taken in all circumstances.