Research by the Universities of Bristol and Strathclyde has examined the effect of employment tribunal fees on employees’ lives and livelihoods.
The new fees were introduced by the Coalition government to encourage businesses and workers to mediate or settle a dispute rather than go to a full hearing, while also reducing the burden on the taxpayer.
However, with fees ranging from £160 to £1,200, many people have reported that they can no longer afford to seek resolution of their employment-related disputes. Employers who defend claims are not required to pay.
Researchers worked with six Citizens Advice Bureaux – three in England and three in Scotland – over two years to track the experiences of workers involved in disputes with their employers.
They found that many claims are for fairly small amounts – for unpaid wages or holiday pay that might amount to no more than £300. The imposition of fees means they’re much less likely to try and recover this money.
The number of claims made to employment tribunals in the months January to March 2014 fell by 81 per cent compared to the same quarter the previous year, according to the latest statistics published by the Ministry of Justice.
Professor Morag McDermont, Professor of Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Bristol Law School, said: “Such a sharp decrease in cases has profoundly worrying consequences for the future of employment law.Workers who have been unfairly dismissed, subjected to unlawful discrimination, or who have simply not been paid for work they have done now have severely limited access to justice. Due to such high fee levels, it’s hardly surprising that four out of five people now decide not to proceed.”
The level at which fees have been set is far higher than the £60 currently required to take a claim to the County Court. In order to even submit an ET1 form which enables a claim to be lodged in the system, a worker must now pay between £160 and £250 depending on the nature of the claim.
If the claim goes to a hearing, the aggrieved worker must pay a further £230 or £950. This means that in order for many serious claims such as unfair dismissal or discrimination to be resolved, alleged victims must pay £1,200 alongside any other related costs.
From their interviews, researchers also discovered that those on low incomes who qualify for a reduction or waiver of fees have experienced real difficulty in accessing this due to the complexity of the scheme and stringent qualifying conditions.
The Coalition government claimed that there were a high number of unfounded cases which were causing backlogs in the system, costing employers money and preventing job creation.
However, researchers found no evidence of vexatious claims or widespread abuse of the system during their study.
To reinstate workers’ access to justice, the researchers are calling for the fees to be abolished completely and for the employment tribunal system to be overhauled.
Professor Nicole Busby, Professor of Law at the University of Strathclyde, said: “The imposition of fees has been the final straw for some claimants. But even before these fees were in place, tribunals did not provide accessible justice for all. There’s a fear of being made to pay the employer’s costs, being faced with intimidation tactics and potentially representing yourself in a process people have little knowledge of.
“Aside from the financial costs, the psychological and emotional damage has left many in mental or physical ill-health. Our legal system allows little opportunity for expressing what actually happened and how it has affected the individual’s life, let alone in finding a human-centred solution.”
The research is part of the ‘Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) and Employment Disputes’ project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC).
- Listen to Prof Morag McDermont being interviewed on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme [interview starts after 24 minutes].