Tribunal Fees Refunds to Begin

Today the government announced plans to begin ‘phase one’ of their scheme to refund employment tribunal fees.

The first phase will primarily be aimed at those who have contacted the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) applying for a refund since the Supreme Court’s decision to scrap tribunal fees back in July. This group is estimated to consist of up to 1000 people, who will be contacted directly in writing by the MoJ.

Those who have paid tribunal fees, but have not been invited to take part in the initial refund stage, have been invited to register online or by post.

This first phase is expected to take up to four weeks to complete, after which they intend to roll out the full refund scheme early in November. Once the full scheme begins, anyone who has paid an employment tribunal fee (whether single or multiple claims) will be eligible for a refund if they comply with any of the criteria set out below.

Those who will be eligible to apply for a refund under the scheme are:

• People who paid a fee directly to the Employment Tribunal or Employment Appeal Tribunal and have not been reimbursed by their opponent pursuant to an order of the Tribunal.
• People who were ordered by the Tribunal to reimburse their opponent their fee and who can show that they have paid it.
• Representatives (such as a trade union) who paid a fee on behalf of another person and have not been reimbursed by that person.
• The lead claimant (or representative) in a multiple claim who paid a fee on behalf of the other claimants.

As well as a full refund for their original fee, applicants to the scheme will also be paid 0.5% interest, calculated from the date of the original payment made up to the refund date. It’s estimated the refunds will cost the government up to £32 million.

Further guidance will be made available after the scheme has been started.

Our expert team of employment lawyers understand the difficulties and sensitivities involved in dealing with issues at your place of work. This is why you will only be dealt with by expertly trained personnel, to ensure the process runs as smooth and as efficient as possible.

Call us for an initial consultation on 0161 930 5151, e-mail employmentteam@gorvins.com or contact us online.

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