Unfair Dismissals and ET Fees - Osbourne's Speech

On Monday 3^rd October the Government announced that they are to extend the qualifying service required to bring an unfair dismissal claim from 12 months to 2 years and that fees will be introduced for Claimants presenting a claim to an Employment Tribunal.

The forthcoming changes were confirmed by Chancellor George Osborne in his speech to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester. They are part of a wider Government consultation aimed to cut down on red tape and the burden of regulation for businesses. 

The change to the requirement for 2 years service to bring unfair dismissal claims will come into force on 6^th April 2012.

There will still remain some “automatically unfair dismissals” that do not require any minimum length of continuous service to bring a claim (such as dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy or for “whistleblowing”).  These are unaffected by the forthcoming changes.  However, the Government estimates that the change could save businesses in the region of £6 million a year and early reports suggest that they could avoid around 2000 unfair dismissal claims being issued. 

It has not yet been formally announced when fees to bring a Tribunal claim will be introduced although it is speculated that this could be in April 2013.  The plan behind the introduction of fees to bring a claim is to discourage vexatious Claimants and to transfer the burden of the cost of Employment Tribunals from tax payers to those who use the system. 

Further consultation on the way in which the fee introduction will work is due to commence in November 2011.  However, early reports suggest that Claimants will be required to pay a fee of between £100 to £250 to commence a claim and a further fee would then be payable – again by the Claimant – when the case is listed for a Hearing.  That fee could be as much as £1,000 in most cases but may be more if the claim is of high value. 

Whilst that in itself may be sufficient to discourage a vexatious or speculative claim, a Claimant who is unsuccessful in their claim will forfeit the fees they have paid. 

Again, whilst no firm details have been released it is highly likely that those on a low income will not have to pay the fees as a condition of bringing a claim. 

For more information contact our Employment Team

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