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
