Stephen Poyner, Partner and Head of Employment Law comments on the Supreme Court ruling that Employment Tribunal fees are unlawful
"This Morning's decision by the Supreme Court came as a surprise to many HR lawyers and professionals. The Court overturned the decisions of both the High Court and Court of Appeal and decided that Employment Tribunal fees were unlawful since they had not been introduced by a full Act of Parliament and because they were also discriminatory to the extent they imposed higher fees for certain claims which women were more likely to bring than men.
Given the huge reduction in claims since fees were first introduced back into 2013, there is now every expectation that we will see a significant increase in the number of Tribunal claims issued in the months ahead .The removal of the financial obstacle for Claimants means Employers would be well advised to revisit their current HR policies and procedures and in some cases a more risk based,cautious approach to managing employment disputes may be warranted."
To discuss any element of Employment Law contact Stephen.Poyner@fdrlaw.co.uk on 01925 230000