From 29 July 2013, bringing an Employment Tribunal (ET) claim will no longer be free of charge.



From that date, the Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal Fees Order 2013 introduces a fee structure for single claims to the ET as follows:

• For level 1 claims (e.g. claims for sums due on termination of employment, such as unpaid wages, payment in lieu of notice, redundancy payments etc.) the issue fee will be £160 and the hearing fee, payable approximately six weeks in advance of the hearing, will be £230; and
• For level 2 claims (e.g. unfair dismissal, discrimination and claims arising under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998) the issue fee will be £250 and the hearing fee will be £950.

ETs will have a discretionary power to order the losing party to meet the fees paid by the winning party.



The fee for bringing an appeal to the EAT will be £400 and the hearing fee will be £1,200.



The Regulations also:

• remove the £20,000 cap on costs that can be ordered by the ET;
• introduce a ‘sift stage’ for reviewing claims and responses to identify those that should be struck out; and
• introduce ‘preliminary hearings’, which will take the place of case management discussions and pre-hearing reviews.

Many people on low incomes will not be required to pay the full fees – under the same remission system that already exists for those who pay fees to use the civil courts’ service.