LTB451/17 - Legal Services Employment Tribunal Fees

[TrueBlueTerrier]

LTB451/17 - Legal Services Employment Tribunal Fees

No. 451/2017

10th August 2017

TO ALL BRANCHES (EXCLUDING CHANNEL ISLANDS/IOM & NORTHERN IRELAND)

Dear Colleagues

LEGAL SERVICES EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL FEES

Branches will be aware of the recent decision made by the Supreme Court to abolish Employment Tribunal Fees and Employment Appeal Tribunal Fees and rule that the fee regime is unlawful. In simple terms the judgment means that no one should have been asked to pay fees to enter the tribunal process and those that did are entitled to be refunded from the Government.

The decision has thrown up a number of issues which centres around individuals who were disadvantaged, insofar, as they did not make an application to the Tribunal as a result of the fees and in some cases had their claims struck out because the fees were not paid on time.

At this point in time we are seeking further clarification as to whether these Tribunal cases can be re-submitted but as of yet no information is forthcoming.

In relation to the funding of the fees, you will be aware that the CWU agreed to underwrite our members’ fees, some of which were paid direct by the member and others were paid by the Branch on behalf of the member and were subsequently refunded by CWU Headquarters.

It will be our intention to seek to recover these payments, as and when the refund process has been published.

In the meantime members should be advised that they can apply to submit an Employment Tribunal once they have gone through the early conciliation process with ACAS, without the need to submit any payments and the Employment Tribunal website has been amended accordingly.

Further information will be provided to Branches in due course.

Yours sincerely



Tony Rupa

Head of Legal Services

[Alexei]

Great news.

I remember my rep telling me to be very careful in my actions, as RM would sack me, branding me as a "troublemaker", and to take it to a tribunal I would have to pay thousands of pounds worth of fee's to fight a lost battle, as the CWU would not front the cost.

Look forward to handing him this golden nugget of info

[General Mannerheim]

Your rep is a cock.
You can't get sacked for raising a concern and any tribunal would take a very dim view of a claimant turning up and telling them that Royal Mail had sacked them for raising a case.