Employment tribunal claims have rocketed in number since fees were abolished in July 2017, the latest Ministry of Justice (MoJ) statistics reveal.
Statistics released last week show the number of single claims lodged from April to June 2018 rose 165% to 10,996 on the same quarter the previous year when fees were charged. Multiple claims more than quadrupled, rising by 344%, although more than half of these arose as part of a large multiple airline claim.
The MoJ acknowledged that the rise was ‘most likely due to the abolition of employment tribunal fees’ since ‘receipts remained relatively stable (around 4,300 per quarter)’ from July 2013 to July 2017, when fees were charged.
The unpopular fees, from £390 to £1,200 for a single claimant, were removed following a landmark Supreme Court ruling in R (Unison) v Lord Chancellor [2017] UKSC 51 that the fees were unlawful because of their effect on access to justice. The MoJ introduced a fee refund scheme for claimants, of which 12,400 payments totalling more than £10m have been made.
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