Whilst many Claimant solicitors await the outcome of the judicial review into the introduction of Tribunal fees, the High Court is to receive another challenge. A London employment firm is seeking to challenge the new 52 week limit on unfair dismissal awards which came into force also on 29th July 2013 under the Unfair Dismissal (Variation of the Limit of Compensatory Award) Order 2013.

The founder of the firm said that the cap on compensation will disproportionately affect older people, as they are more likely to receive more than this due to the difficulty in finding another job. They also said that the unwanted consequence would be an increase in the cost of benefits payments for the Government.  This would also impact on the older person on a lower salary being able to get representation for such claims they said.  Whilst I agree with the comment that it is rare for anyone to get more than two years money, I for one was unaware that previously the cap was for three years as the founding barrister is quoted as saying in the Law Society Gazette.

The Unison decision into fees is expected shortly.