Employment tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal fees

On 26 July 2017, the Supreme Court in R (on the application of Unison) v Lord Chancellor [2017] IRLR 911 SC held that the making of the Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal Fees Order (SI 2013/1893), which introduced the current fee regime on 29 July 2013, was unlawful. The Make a claim to an employment tribunal page of the GOV.UK website makes clear that fees are no longer payable.

The claimant in employment tribunal proceedings was required to pay a fee to issue a claim and a further fee if the claim proceeded to a final hearing, and both parties to the claim were liable to pay a fee for making specified applications. The fee payable depended on whether the claim was a type A or type B claim, which depended on the nature of the claim. The appellant in Employment Appeal Tribunal proceedings was required to pay a fee for lodging an appeal and a further fee if the matter proceeded to a disposal hearing.