New Employment Tribunal Fees from 29 July 2013

The long-awaited Tribunal fees come into force on Monday 29 July 2013.  A claimant who submits a claim after this date will be required to pay an "issue fee" on submitting their claim, and a "hearing fee" before a full hearing.  The fee will vary depending on the complexity of the claim.

The basic fee structure will be as follows:

• Level 1 claims: £160 issue fee and £230 hearing fee. These are the more straightforward, lower value claims, generally for sums due on termination such as unpaid wages, payment in lieu of notice and redundancy payments.
•  Level 2 claims: £250 issue fee and £950 hearing fee. This will cover all other claims, including those relating to unfair dismissal, discrimination and equal pay.  We expect that most claims will fall within this bracket.

The fees will be paid directly to the Tribunal.  The judge will have the power to order the respondent to reimburse any fees paid by the claimant if the claimant wins, although this will be at the judge's discretion rather than automatic.  We hope that this will reduce the number of low level, opportunistic claims coming through the Tribunal system, although it may just end up being an additional cost that the claimant will seek to recover from the respondent as part of any settlement package.