Today the Supreme Court has declared that employment tribunal and EAT fees introduced in 2013 are unlawful under both domestic and EU law. In R (on the application of UNISON) v Lord Chancellor it was decided that the order that brought the regime into effect was unlawful from the outset and must be quashed because it has the effect of preventing access to the tribunal system.
The immediate consequence is that tribunal and EAT fees cease to be payable under the existing scheme.It is unlikely that fees will be abolished altogether, but rather lower fees are more likely. Fees already paid should
After the introduction of fees the Tribunals experienced a 70% drop in claims.Presumably the number of claims will now revert to pre-2013 levels.