Philip Henson reviews the government consultation on fee remissions for the courts & tribunals
All fee charging courts and tribunals operate a system of remissions to ensure that individual applicants who are unable to afford fees are not denied access to their services. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) published a consultation, which closed this month, on a wide-ranging reform of the fee remission (waivers) system for the courts and tribunals.
It is proposed that the new system will apply across all fee charging business areas with the exception of the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).
As fees are being introduced to the employment tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) for the first time in autumn of this year, the subject of fee remissions may be a new concept to many employment law practitioners and HR professionals.
The proposals
The consultation proposes a new two-stage test based on the disposable capital and monthly income of the claimant. The applicant will have to pass both tests in order to be eligible for a fee remission.
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