If you took your employer to an Employment Tribunal between 29th July 2013 and 26th July 2017 and you paid any court fees, you are now able to claim them back. If this applies to you, or someone you know, keep reading….
From the moment the government introduced Tribunal fees there was outrage and speculation that it would be a barrier to employees seeking justice. Legal battles ensued. Finally, over 4 years later, in June 2017, the Supreme Court ruled that the Tribunal fees were indeed illegal and were abolished immediately with the government promising to repay them at an estimated cost to the tax payer of £32.5 million.
Unfortunately (and perhaps unsurprisingly), the government is not making it easy for people to recover their money. The government are not contacting those affected and instead are relying upon people finding out about their right to recover, figuring out how to recover and then having the time and inclination to fill in the online application. The cynical ones amongst us could be forgiven for thinking the government are hoping the additional barriers will lighten the impact on the public purse!
To demonstrate, according to the Ministry of Justice, as at 18th December 2017 only 4,689 applications had been received and only 2,151 payments had been made. The monetary value of those payments is £1,808,310 – just a fraction of the estimated total owed with over £30,000,000 left to pay out!
So, How Can You Claim Your Court and Hearing Fees Back?
You can apply to claim your fees back online by following this link. You need to fill out the form with your details to make your claim.
How Much is Paid Back?
You will be repaid for the Issue Fee for each Employment Tribunal claim submitted and, if your case reached the final stages and a Hearing Fee was paid, you will recover that too. The Issue Fee was between £160 and £250 and the Hearing Fee was significantly more at upwards of £950!
It also worth mentioning that if your claim for recovery is successful, you will be paid 0.5% interest for every year that has passed.
Help is on Hand
If you paid any Employment Tribunal fees and are simply too busy or are struggling to complete the forms, we’re here to help.
We have set up a department dedicated to helping clients recover their Employment Tribunal fees for a small administrative fee. It may not be a huge sum of money, but the fees were illegal and every penny counts!
If you would like us to help you recover your Employment Tribunal fees get in touch by leaving a message, sending an email to advice@theemploymentsolicitor.com or calling us on 0800 3688820
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