02/05/2025
The UK Government is considering some significant amendments to building regulations which will impact BWF Members and the wider woodworking and joinery manufacturing industry. A consultation of ...
The new charges for employment tribunal claimants comes as one of a number of adjustments to the employment tribunals procedure under the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill.
Claimants who issue a claim against their employer in the employment tribunal are required to pay a fee. There are two levels of claim set out in the draft Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal Fees Order 2013.
Level 1 claims (for example unlawful deductions from wages, holiday pay, and redundancy payment), have an issue fee of £160 and a further fee of £230 if the claim proceeds to a hearing.
Level 2 claims (for example discrimination, equal pay and unfair dismissal claims), have an issue fee of £250 and a hearing fee is £950.
The tribunal has the power to order the fees to be repaid to the claimant if he or she is successful with his or her claim. Fees are also payable for appeals submitted to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT).
There is a separate fee structure for claims submitted jointly by more than one claimant. The issue fee is £400 and the hearing fee is £1,200 regardless of the type of claim or number of claimants.
The Government hopes that the new fee system will encourage people to look for alternatives, such as mediation, before going to the employment tribunal and ensure that people using employment tribunals contribute to the cost of running the system where they can afford to do so, rather than the full cost being met by the taxpayer.
The 29th July changes also include adjustments to the tribunal procedure rules such as combining pre-hearing reviews and case management discussions into a preliminary hearing, new strike out powers and a rule to encourage alternative dispute resolution. Conversations between an employer and an employee or an offer made prior to the termination of employment, with a view to terminating employment on agreed terms, may not be taken into account by an employment tribunal when determining an unfair dismissal claim.
For more information on this topic, including disciplinary and redundancy advice, please follow this link to our Employment Publications. The BWF has a number of resources that members can download including these guides and template documents:
