It seems, following the defeat of the last Unison challenge last year, that at least for now Employment Tribunal fees are here to stay.  There are two sides to every argument;  the Government argues that it is right to ask service users to contribute to the costs of running of the system. The Opposition and trades unions contend that the current fees system unfairly impedes access to justice.

The introduction of fees coincided with a steep decline in the number of cases received as much as 70% in come cases. The judicial review proceedings in England and Scotland which challenged the scheme have been unsuccessful. The Commons library has produced a detailed and balanced report into the background of the fees system, how it operates and analyses its impact and the legal challenges to date.  It is worth a read and can be found here.