Business aid: Dean Wilson LLP
Ian Wilson of local solicitors Dean Wilson LLP answers questions on Employment Tribunals
Q. I have read that at the end of July this year claimants in Employment Tribunals will have to pay a fee in order to pursue a claim against an employer. Is this right?
A. Yes but, as is usual with legislation these days, it has been necessary for the Government to issue guidelines explaining the exceptions to this general rule. Eligibility for what is called a “fee remission” will involve an assessment of each applicant’s and/or their partner’s disposable capital, including savings, investments, redundancy payments etc. It is proposed that remission from the fee payable when you start a claim should be available if the claimant’s disposable capital does not exceed £3,000.
Q. Does this mean that if somebody has less than £3,000 they will not have to pay anything?
A. If the claimant gets over the first hurdle, i.e. the capital test, then they face an income test. They will then either receive a full fee waiver or a partial fee waiver. To obtain a full fee waiver the gross monthly income for a single person without children must be below £1,085. This increases to £1,330 for a single person with one child and so on.
For a couple the thresholds will be £1,245 with no children and £1,490 with one child. Recipients of benefits such as Income Support and Income Based Jobseekers’ Allowance will automatically be deemed to fall below the income threshold provided they have passed the disposable capital test!
Q. Is this all going to work?
A. Being cynical about these things, I very much doubt it. Bearing in mind that there is a strict time limit of three months to bring a claim, i.e. three months from the date of dismissal or resignation, it seems to me it is going to be quite difficult for claimants to complete all the paperwork and get a decision, before even considering filling out the claim form or going to a solicitor for help, within that three-month period. I can see arguments stretching into the distance as to whether or not somebody is eligible for a fee remission.
Q. Do you think this will have an impact on the number of claims being brought?
A. I think the answer to this has to be definitely a yes. Firstly I think many people will not be prepared to risk paying what are quite substantial fees, particularly if the case goes to a hearing, and which they will not get back if they lose and if they win it will have to come out of their compensation. Furthermore, I think many people will be daunted by the amount of paperwork in having to make a fees remission application and may conclude at the end of it all that it simply is not worth it. I suspect that this is part of the Government’s philosophy, i.e. it will reduce the number of trivial claims being pursued through Employment Tribunals.
