HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) has confirmed the date on which fees will be introduced into the Employment Tribunal (ET) and Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) as Monday 29 July 2013. In a letter to stakeholder HMCTS states that, from this date, "all ET and EAT appeals will be liable under the Fees Order and supporting rules to pay a fee or provide an application for fee remission against that fee under the HMCTS remission scheme”.
The proposed fee structure involves payment of an issue fee when the claim is submitted and a hearing fee which would be paid prior to the full merits hearing. Here is a reminder of the proposed fee structure. This was set out in the draft statutory instrument which was laid before Parliament in April 2013:
• Level A claims – these are claims “generally for sums due on termination of employment e.g. unpaid wages, payment in lieu of notice, redundancy payments”. The issue fee for such claims will be £160; the hearing fee will be £230.
• Level B claims – these include those relating to unfair dismissal, discrimination, equal pay and whistleblowing. The issue fee for such claims will be £250; the hearing fee will be £950.
• Multiple claims – the issue fees and hearing fees will be higher, depending on the number of claimants in the multiple claim. For example, for Level A claims, the issue fee for 2-10 claimants will be £320 (twice the single fee).
• Other fees – other fees will apply to specific applications. For example, for an application for review in relation to a Level A claim, the fee would be £100.
• Employment Appeal Tribunal – the proposed fee for an appeal is £400; the proposed fee for the hearing is £1,200.
Many people on low incomes may not be required to pay the full fees, under the same remission system which already exists for court users who pay fees to use the civil courts’ services. The Government has recently consulted on the remissions scheme and aims to implement a new remission scheme in October 2013. The Government has also stated that it is committed to reviewing the fee structure once implemented to assess its impact in order to consider if changes are needed.