The announcement was met with criticism, in particular with regard to the affect it would have on poorer workers wishing to bring a claim. However, employment relations minister Ed Davey has since provided that the fees will not be payable by the workers on the lowest salaries so not to inhibit their access to justice.
The exact details are yet to be agreed but the Ministry of Justice is to launch a consultation on the introduction of fees for tribunals next month. Whilst the new regime has angered many employment lawyers, Mr Davey reminded us that the objective of introducing fees at employment tribunals was to ensure that people using a publicly funded service made a contribution to it. When you consider the economic situation the country is in perhaps this is understandable. There is, of course, also an argument that those who are not directly responsible for the financial crisis, that is the poorer worker, seem to be the ones who are suffering the most from the several austerity measures in place.
In explaining that the government is trying to help those receiving lower incomes, Mr Davey also pointed out plans that fees would be reduced for those immediately above the lowest pay levels. His comments suggested that a sliding scale of fees is currently being considered.
In the government's desire to cut the amount of claims going through the tribunal they have also introduced a two year as opposed to one year qualification period for those wishing to make a claim for unfair dismissal. At a press briefing at the department for Business, Innovation and Skills on 11 October Mr Davey also mentioned that the government would be looking into changing the law on discrimination claims. He said that the problem with the amount of discrimination claims going through the tribunals was one of misconception. He blamed the media for its reporting on six figure settlements, which he stressed was actually very rare. He talked about plans to look at what could be done to amend the rules on discrimination claims in view of the European laws Britain is also bound by. His comments in this area may be a heads up for employees and employers alike who may be involved in future discrimination claims. What they can do to reduce the amount of discrimination claims remains to be seen, watch this space.