The Supreme Court has unanimously upheld Unison's appeal against Tribunal fees finding that the current fee regime is unlawful both under domestic and EU law as it has the effect of preventing access to justice.
In particular, the Court noted that ET and EAT fees have no direct relation to the amount sought and therefore deter claimants pursuing low value claims or claims for non-financial remedy (which is the majority of ET claims).
It was argued that the evidence about the impact of the fees was not available at the time fees were introduced and, therefore, the original decision was lawful. However, this was not accepted by the Supreme Court. It held that the imposition of fees had the effect of preventing access to justice immediately and, thus, the fees have been unlawful from the start.
More to follow…