Gus Baker & Ruth Kennedy ask whether claimants who could not afford to pay employment tribunal fees could now bring claims out of time
- Quashing of Fees Order 2013 as ultra vires ab initio means claims could be brought out of time under the ‘reasonably practicable’ test.
- For discrimination claims, the statutory discretion test is more flexible.
- Proceedings must be issued immediately, with supporting evidence.
Between 2013 and July this year, individuals presenting claims in employment tribunals were required to pay a fee of up to £1,200 in order to avoid their claims being struck out. In R (on the application of Unison) v Lord Chancellor [2017] UKSC 51, [2017] All ER (D) 174 (Jul) the Supreme Court held that the employment tribunal fees introduced in the Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal Fees Order 2013 (SI 2013/1893) were unlawful as being ultra vires ab initio and in breach of EU law (see page 22). At the time of writing it is not known how tribunals will deal with claims of individuals who were previously
