Priced out of justice

The coalition government’s legacy of injustice was made startlingly clear last week when new TUC figures revealed that the number of employment tribunal claims has plummeted after fees were introduced three years ago.

Being priced out of justice, workers – even those on the minimum wage – must fork out up to £1,200 to take their boss to court under the government’s fee regime.

The year before tribunal fees were introduced, 16,000 workers on average filed claims each month – this figure dropped to 7,000 workers a month, with unfair dismissal claims nose-diving an astonishing 73 per cent.

Significant drops were also registered in the number of sex discrimination claims, which fell by 71 per cent, while race discrimination and disability discrimination cases fell substantially too, at 58 per cent and 54 per cent respectively.

Earlier this year, a justice select committee inquiry slammed the government for continuously delaying its review of tribunal fees, which a year after the review was first announced, has yet to be published.

‘Troubling contrast’

“There is a troubling contrast between the speed with which the government has brought forward successive proposals for higher fees, and its tardiness in completing an assessment of the impact of the most controversial change it has made,” the committee argued.

“We find it unacceptable that the government has not reported the results of its review one year after it began and six months after the government said it would be completed.”

The cross-party committee of MPs strongly objected to the ministry of justice’s claims that the steep drop in employment tribunal cases could merely be attributed to improving economic conditions, changes to employment law and an already-existing downward trend in the number of cases being brought.

“These may indeed be facts but the timing and scale of the reduction following immediately from the introduction of fees can leave no doubt that the clear majority of the decline is attributable to fees,” the committee noted.

They concluded that “if there were to be a binary choice between income from fees and preservation of access to justice, the latter must prevail.

“The arguments presented to us by the government in this inquiry … have not swayed us from our conclusion, on the evidence, that the regime of employment tribunal fees has had a significant adverse impact on access to justice for meritorious claims,” the committee argued.

The TUC analysis notes that Acas figures for 2015/16 show of the 90,000 employment disputes the conciliation service received notice of, 65 per cent of those were not settled by Acas nor did they progress to a tribunal.

Wrong signal

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said the tribunal fees sent the wrong signal to unscrupulous bosses.

“These figures show a huge drop in workers seeking justice when they’ve been unfairly treated,” she said. “Now bosses know they can get away with it, discrimination at work can flourish unchecked and people can be sacked without good reason.

“The evidence is there for all to see,” she added. “These fees – of up to £1200, even if you’re on the minimum wage – are pricing out thousands each month from pursuing cases.

“Theresa May has repeatedly said she wants to govern for ordinary working people,” O’Grady went on to say. “Here is a perfect opportunity. She could reverse employment tribunal fees, and make sure workers can challenge bad employers in court.”

Unite head of legal Howard Beckett agreed. “Employment tribunal fees have been a disastrous policy since their implementation – if there were any doubts, this latest TUC analysis lays them to rest once and for all,” he said. “The fees have blocked access to justice for those who need the justice system most – vulnerable workers who are at the mercy of rogue employers.

“It’s hardly surprising that the government has dragged its feet and delayed publishing an impact assessment of employment tribunal fees – they know the fees have had a devastating effect on workers who face unfair dismissal, sex and racial discrimination, among other workplace injustices and they know that if this were all brought to light there would be a public outcry.

“We call on the government to scrap all employment tribunal fees immediately – the Autumn Statement gives them an opportunity to do just that. But for now, the only avenue to justice is through trade union membership.

“We at Unite are committed to covering all legal costs for our members, including employment tribunal fees, and we ensure that members who use Unite legal services to pursue a personal injury or employment claim keep 100 per cent of their compensation.

“Even as the current government uses the rhetoric of working-class values, it is pummelling working people with greater and greater audaciousness. Let’s not be fooled – joining a trade union now is more important than ever before.”