Advice on Settlement Agreements
Employment Tribunal Representation
Covid-19 Employment ClaimsFollowing the decision made to abolish tribunal fees on the 26th July, the Employment and Property Jurisdictional Support Team of HM Courts and Tribunals Service, have issued the following statement for the attention of those affected by the decision:
“Dear All
You will all be aware that on 26 July, the Supreme Court handed down judgment in the case of R (Unison) v Lord Chancellor. Unison’s appeal was a challenge to the lawfulness of Employment Tribunals fees. The Court has …found that the fees unlawfully hinder access to justice and the relevant Fees Order – the Employment Tribunals and Employment Appeal Tribunal Fees Order 2013, has been quashed.
The effect of this judgment is that the fees have been found to be unlawful from the time they were introduced.
We have immediately taken steps to stop charging fees for proceedings in the Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal. For an interim period, the digital service has been withdrawn for essential maintenance work to remove references to fees. During this period, anyone seeking to issue an Employment Tribunal claim will need to complete an ET1 form and submit it by post, or in person to the relevant office. Full details on how to do this are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/employment-tribunals/make-a-claim. We hope to have an online submission portal up and running early next week.
While these arrangements are in place, it may take us a little longer to process claims and deal with enquiries. We would ask for your patience during this period.
Full details of the refund scheme will be announced in due course.”