The Price of Justice : The Impact of Employment Tribunal fees on CAB clients in Scotland

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Rose, Emily and Wood, Lauren and Kirk, Eleanor (2015) The Price of Justice : The Impact of Employment Tribunal fees on CAB clients in Scotland. Citizens Advice Scotland and University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

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Abstract

This report presents findings from a collaborative research project between the University of Strathclyde and Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) into the views of Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) advisers within Scotland on the impact of Employment Tribunal (ET) fees. Fees payable by workers to take their case to the ET were introduced on 29 July 2013. These are charged at two levels depending on the nature of the claim and are payable at two stages—on lodging the claim and before the hearing itself. The total costs for going to full hearing are: Type A claims (including unpaid wages) £390 and Type B claims (including unfair dismissal and discrimination claims) £1,200. Remission from fees is available in limited circumstances. One year on from the introduction of fees, data from the Ministry of Justice reveals that there was an 81% decline in the number of cases lodged in the ET for the period January to March 2014 compared with that same quarter in 2013. We wanted to understand the ways in which the ET fees, and its associated fee remission system, have impacted on clients of CAB. To do this we sought the perspective of CAB advisers within Scotland, particularly those who focus on employment problems. We undertook an online survey of these advisers and two focus groups. This report details our findings. These relate, firstly, to CAB clients liable to pay full or partial ET fees and, secondly, to CAB clients eligible for fee remission.

ORCID iDs

Rose, Emily ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3719-6428, Wood, Lauren and Kirk, Eleanor;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)