New fees for tribunals from 2013

New fees for tribunals from 2013, says George Osborne

Chancellor George Osborne has announced a fee for bringing an employment tribunal will be charged for the first time from April 2013. 

There will be a refund for any individual who wins their case.

The actual amount that will be charged and how it should be paid will be subject to consultation starting by the end of November.

Currently there is no fee for an applicant who wants to make an employment tribunal claim.

The low-paid, or those without an income, may also have the fee waived or reduced at the start of the process, under the new scheme.

"We are ending the one way bet against small businesses," said Mr Osborne.

Timescale

The chancellor also confirmed that, from April 2011, the qualifying period for a claim for unfair dismissal will be that the individual must have been in the job for at least two years, whereas currently they only need to have been working for one year.

"We respect the right of those who spent their whole lives building up a business, not to see that achievement destroyed by a vexatious appeal to an employment tribunal. So we are now going to make it much less risky for businesses to hire people," Mr Osborne said.

Last year there were 236,000 employment tribunal claims - of which only some were unfair dismissal claims, with an average award for successful complainants of £8,900.

Under Mr Osborne's plan, workers will still be able to take action immediately if they suffer discrimination, but by reducing the risk of tribunals for unfair dismissals the government hopes bosses will feel more confident about hiring people.

More details here...