AN EMPLOYMENT lawyer has welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to scrap fees for claimants at employment tribunals.
Richard Moon, head of employment law at Blythe Liggins Solicitors in Leamington, said the government would now have to repay up to £32 million to claimants.
He told The Observer: “My view has been that the level of tribunal fees meant that employees who had legitimate claims were simply unable to pursue them because of the cost. This was clearly evident from the number of claims being brought, which have decreased by between 66 to 70 per cent since the imposition of the fees four years ago,
“There may now be a flood of claims by employees – and employers may need to brace themselves for this. It will be interesting to see whether the tribunal system can cope, now that it has contracted since the number of cases decreased. The government is also facing a large bill as the Ministry of Justice has undertaken to reimburse fees already paid.”
Blythe Liggins joint senior partner Richard Thornton added: “The high level of fees has effectively blocked legitimate claimants from bringing proceedings in the employment tribunal and we hope that this sensible and long overdue decision will restore the ability of employees to protect their rights.
“We further hope that the decision will lead to a reduction of the court fees charged in civil proceedings which are also prohibitively expensive.”
