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Employment Tribunal Fees Abolished

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A fee regime was in place from 29th July 2013 whereby fees had to be paid upon issuing a claim before an Employment Tribunal and upon the case going to a full trial. The fee for issuing a claim was either £160 or £250, depending on the type of claim. The hearing fee was £230 or £950. On 26th July 2017 a judicial review case was heard at the Supreme Court brought on an application by Unison against the Lord Chancellor. The Supreme Court declared that fees in the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal were unlawful, under domestic and EU law. It quashed the Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal Fees Order 2013. The Supreme Court determined that the fee regime effectively prevented access to justice and was a breach of common law and constitutional rights. It was also held that it was indirectly discriminatory to have fees contrary to the Equality Act 2010.

As a result of this case all claims brought before an Employment Tribunal from now on will not incur a fee. It also means that that those Claimants that incurred fees at anytime during the four year period whilst the fee regime was in place are entitled to a refund. The detailed arrangements for recovering previously paid fees was due to be announced in September but the scheme has yet to be revealed.

There is now the potential for reinstatement of claims that were rejected by the Employment Tribunal as a result of a failure to pay the correct fee. There is also legal argument for allowing claims out of time on the basis that the Claimant could not afford to bring the claim when fees, that have now been held to be unlawful, were in place.

If you have any queries about fees or past or current claims our employment law expert, Jenny Carpenter can assist.

What Should Be Included In Holiday Pay?

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There has been a significant amount of cases addressing the question of what it is appropriate for an employer to pay for periods of statutory annual leave. The position is clear and straightforward where the employee receives a regular wage, or even if the hours or wage are irregular it is clear from the Working Time Regulations 1998 that average remuneration should be calculated over the previous 12 weeks prior to leave being taken. The position is more complex though when the employee/worker receives additional contractual payments as part of their remuneration to include bonuses, overtime and commission.

The Court of Appeal decision in the British Gas Trading Ltd –v- Lock and another case has now been reported. The Court of Appeal has upheld the Employment Appeal Tribunal decision that where an employee receives an element of results-based commission as part of their pay this should be included when they are on statutory annual leave. However, the case does not specify how this should be calculated.
We can advise on holiday pay cases both for employees and employers.

Jennifer Carpenter
Employment Law Specialist
Partner

Possible Implications Of Brexit For UK Employment Law

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Much of the employment law with have in this country comes from the EU, including:- discrimination rights, collective consultation obligations, transfer of undertakings regulations, family leave, working time regulations and duties to agency workers.

Whilst it would now be possible for the UK government to repeal this it is unlikely to do so and in fact EU law will probably continue to significantly influence employment law in this country.

There are various reasons for this:

  • Some employment law was implemented in the UK before the EU made it law. For example, UK equal pay, race and disability discrimination laws, right of return after maternity leave – all UK law.  It is highly unlikely therefore that the government will suddenly decide to reverse this.
  • Some employment law provides for rights that go further than what the EU requires.  For example, UK family leave rights.
  • Many of the employment rights that exist are generally considered to be a good thing and therefore even if it is solely based on EU law it is unlikely that the government would repeal these.
  • The government is likely to determine that there is a requirement to continue to observe EU law even though we are not in the EU.  This will be due to a need to stay in some sort of relationship with the EU. Any trade agreement negotiated with the EU is likely to be dependent on it.

It is much more likely that the government will gradually modify EU derived employment law to make it more applicable to UK employers and employees than repeal it altogether.  As leaving the EU is a two year process nothing will happen quickly.

Once we have left the EU the European Courts of Justice (ECJ) will no longer have jurisdiction over UK courts and decisions made by the ECJ will not be binding on courts in this country.  The decisions however already made by UK courts, taking into account EU law and ECJ decisions will remain binding unless it can be shown that the facts in any particular case are materially different.  It is likely, however that UK courts will continue to at least consider ECJ decisions where relevant to cases being determined here.

So, in summary nothing drastic is going to happen to employment law as a result of Brexit and certainly not in the short term.

 

Jenny Carpenter
Solicitor
Employment law specialist

National Living Wage

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Be aware that a new National Living Wage will come into force on 1st April this year.  Make sure that your staff that are eligible are being paid appropriately.

For workers aged 25 years and over (and not in the first year of an apprenticeship) the National Living Wage this year will be £7.20 per hour, higher than the current minimum wage.

There will be penalties for employers that do not comply.

For advice on this and other employment law related matters please contact us

Standard Form Letters Not Sufficient To Properly Advise Client In Relation To A Personal Injury Claim

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In Procter v Raleys Solicitors (A Firm) [2015] EWCA Civ 400, the Court of Appeal considered an appeal against a finding that a solicitors’ firm had failed to properly advise its client about his claim.

In dismissing an appeal against a decision that a firm of solicitors (R), had failed to properly advise its client (P), the Court of Appeal has confirmed the need for standard form letters of advice to be sufficiently clear to ensure that clients properly understand the nature of the advice.

With Adams Harrison you can be sure that you will receive a personal service, taking you through each step of the claim for your injury.

We always make the time to discuss your position with you in detail and to answer any queries you may have. We do not rely on standard form letters to advise you – The Court of Appeal was critical of Raleys Solicitors for doing just that.

Forward Joke And Other e-mails At Your Peril

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Internet Misuse led to an employee being sacked for gross misconduct after he had already been given notice terminating his employment on the grounds of redundancy.

In the case of Williams v Leeds United Football Club [2015] EWHC 376 Mr Williams was given 12 months notice in accordance with his contract for his employment to end by reason of redundancy.

The Football club then discovered that he had used the club’s e-mail system to forward an e-mail entitled “dirty Leeds” together with pornographic images to a male friend at another football club.

Therefore, the club then dismissed him without notice for gross misconduct.

Mr Williams was not entitled, stated the High Court to his year’s salary, even for the part of the year he had worked, or his redundancy pay.