Newsflash: Tribunal fees – still here

What do we already know?

In our November Newsflash Tribunal fees – on their way out? we told you that Unison’s second challenge to Tribunal fees was heard in the High Court on 21 and 22 October 2014.

What’s new?

The High Court has rejected unison’s second challenge to Tribunal fees. This is despite Unison’s challenge being supported by Tribunal statistics showing a significant reduction in the number of Tribunal claims since the introduction of fees.  As we reported in our December Newsflash Tribunal claims – still going down, the most recent figures for the number of claims lodged in the period July to September 2014 shows that they are 61% lower than the number lodged during the corresponding period in 2013.

The High Court judge commented that any assessment as to the true impact of Tribunal fees on people’s ability to lodge proceedings was, in his view, “speculative”. Unison is to appeal this decision to the Court of Appeal.