Tribunal fees refund

Following The Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling on 26 July 2017 confirming that the Government was acting unlawfully when it introduced the requirement to pay a fee in order to bring an employment tribunal claim, the Government has announced the first stage of its plans to refund everyone who has paid a fee to bring a tribunal claim since the fee’s inception.

It is estimated that up to 1,000 people will initially be contacted regarding their refunds in what is to be a phased implementation scheme. The Government believes around £33 million is to be refunded, including interest of 0.5% which will be calculated from the date of the original payment up until the date of refund.

It is not yet clear how long the whole process will take but the Government believes the first phase will last around four weeks. Further details will be made available after the first phase is complete, however it is open to those who have paid tribunal fees to register their interest in reclaiming these fees ahead of the full refund scheme commencing. To do so applicants should email ethelpwithfees@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk or alternatively send a letter to the Employment Tribunal Central Office (England and Wales)/Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) Fees.*

In our previous blog on this topic we raised the question of the repayment of fees to Respondents who may have been ordered to pay fees as part of an award made against them, and the knotty issue of Claimants who did not bring a claim because they could not afford the fee; will they now be granted time extensions to bring those claims? The answers to these questions remain unclear. However in relation to reclaiming fees where you have been ordered to pay fees as part of an award made against you, we would advise registering your interest in reclaiming these fees as set out above.

If you have any questions regarding this topic or any employment issue, please contact Head of Employment Linky Trott, or any member of the Edwin Coe Employment team.

* PO Box 10218, Leicester LE1 8EG.

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