Employment Tribunal fees start today

This is a sad day for British justice and the protection of ordinary people at work. Check out this BBC report " Under the rules, it will cost £160 or £250 to lodge a claim, with a further charge of either £230 or £950 if the case goes ahead....in the Employment Appeal Tribunal, the fees are £400 to lodge an appeal and another £1,200 for a full hearing".

I am pleased that UNISON has been given permission to challenge these fees in a Judicial Review.

But it not just the fees. The minimum time to be employed before you can claim unfair dismissal is now 2 years not 1 year.

Independent trade union and employer representatives have been kicked off as lay judges in most tribunals. Employer's can threaten and bully employees out of a job by holding what is called "protected conversations" with them. "Conversations" that cannot normally be quoted in a tribunal. Possible awards have been reduced and restricted.

Costs can (and are) already levied for so called "frivolous claims".

The only possible positive thing arising from all this is that workers who don't join a trade union because they think the law will protect them at work will have to wake up and get real. The law will not not protect them at work, nor their employers. Only your union can protect you at work. UNISON and other trade unions have already pledged to pay the fees for members in a union supported case.

ps. Check out that well know communist, "Red" Lord Justice Mummery defence of the existing system.

To try and get justice at work you will need lots & lots of money (or join a trade union)

XpertHR confirm here that this Tory led government has published an implementation date of 29 July 2013 on fees for employment tribunals and appeals.

If this is agreed by Parliament (hopefully it won't) on this day you will be expected to pay :-

"For level 1 claims, the issue fee will be £160 and the hearing fee will be £230. For level 2 claims, the issue fee will be £250 and the hearing fee will be £950. Different fee levels will apply to claims involving multiple claimants.  For lodging an appeal with the EAT, the appellant will pay an issue fee of £400 and a hearing fee of £1,200."

I believe that most cases heard will be level 2. So if you are unfairly dismissed at work you will have to fork out £1200 for a hearing and another £1600 for any appeal.

This is despicable and will deny justice for millions and millions of working people. Bad bosses will treat people with contempt since they know they will not be able to afford these fees. Most trade unions I am aware of will pay these fees for cases that have a reasonable chance of success. Another reason for joining a union.

Better still join an union because you are far, far more likely to have a decent employer in the first place if you have an union in the workplace and avoid needing to go to law! 

The recent small but welcome increase in union membership may mean that workers are beginning to understand (again) that they cannot rely on their employer for justice at work, nor can they rely on the law.

The only people who can really protect them are their fellow workers and their trade union!

Why you cannot rely on the Courts to protect you at work

Today I read a case summary in Daniel Barnett's employment law e-newsletter about a recent Employment Appeal tribunal judgement, where it was agreed that a claimant who had been dismissed had been treated very harshly but since it was not "perverse" it was not unlawful.

'It was not the task of the employment tribunal or the EAT to decide whether the dismissal was fair.' 

You would have thought that was the whole point of making a claim for unfair dismissal?

While I am not sure the source of this quotation I think this sums up much of what is wrong with tribunals and shows up the unrealistic expectations that many (most?) workers have over their rights at work.

Not only has this Tory lead coalition government been rolling back employment rights all over the place (extended waiting period for unfair dismissal from 1 to 2 years, getting rid of lay judges, introducing upfront fees etc) but workers need to understand that tribunals are not about truth and justice. They do a lot of good things still (such as with discrimination) and act as a brake but they are not the "Peoples Courts" they are not an independent arbitrator of fairness in the workplace. Instead its all about contracts and processes.

In 2005/6 only 18% of claims were successful in a full hearing and the median award in 2012 was under £5000.

That is why you need trade unions at work. Collective is best.