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30 January 2024
Issue: 8057 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Employment
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‘Unlawful’ fees revisited

Fees for employment tribunal claims and Employment Appeal Tribunal appeals could be reintroduced, despite the Supreme Court ruling them unlawful seven years ago in R (on the application of Unison) v Lord Chancellor [2017] UKSC 51

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) launched a consultation this week on proposals to introduce a uniform £55 fee for employment claims and appeals (as opposed to fees challenged by Unison in 2017, which ranged from £390 to £1,200 for a single claimant or £780 to £7,200 for groups). Justice minister Mike Freer said the ‘modest’ fees would contribute towards running costs and incentivise parties to settle.

Freer said the MoJ has ‘carefully considered’ the 2017 ruling and endeavoured to ensure the fees proposed ‘are proportionate and affordable’.

However, Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said tribunal fees ‘denied the poorest and most vulnerable access to justice. Nothing has changed. Tribunal fees were unfair then and they are still unfair today.’

Issue: 8057 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Employment
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NEWS

From blockbuster judgments to procedural shake-ups, the courts are busy reshaping litigation practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School hails the Court of Appeal's 'exquisite judgment’ in Mazur restoring the role of supervised non-qualified staff, and highlights a ‘mammoth’ damages ruling likened to War and Peace, alongside guidance on medical reporting fees, where a pragmatic 25% uplift was imposed

Momentum is building behind proposals to restrict children’s access to social media—but the legal and practical challenges are formidable. In NLJ this week, Nick Smallwood of Mills & Reeve examines global moves, including Australia’s under-16 ban and the UK's consultation
Reforms designed to rebalance landlord-tenant relations may instead penalise leaseholders themselves. In this week's NLJ, Mike Somekh of The Freehold Collective warns that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 risks creating an ‘underclass’ of resident-controlled freehold companies
Timing is everything—and the Court of Appeal has delivered clarity on when proceedings are ‘brought’. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains that a claim is issued for limitation purposes when the claim form is delivered to the court, even if fees are underpaid
The traditional ‘single, intensive day’ of financial dispute resolution (FDR) may be due for a rethink. Writing in NLJ this week, Rachel Frost-Smith and Lauren Guiler of Birketts propose a ‘split FDR’ model, separating judicial evaluation from negotiation
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