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NLJ this week: Will tribunal fee proposals end in embarrassment (again)?

17 May 2024
Issue: 8071 / Categories: Legal News , Procedure & practice , Employment , Tribunals
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Government proposals to resurrect employment tribunal fees—albeit at a modest rate compared to last time—could spectacularly backfire, ending in a second ‘unlawful’ ruling

In this week’s NLJ, Catrina Smith, Chair of the Legislative and Policy Committee of the Employment Lawyers Association, discusses the potential for a re-run of the high-profile Unison case of 2017.

Smith identifies a multitude of disadvantages for all concerned, not least the fact ‘the government has also acknowledged that the fee scheme will cost more to administer and implement than it will raise’. It didn’t work out well for the government in 2017, so why would ministers try again?

Ultimately, however, the people with most to lose should the proposals go ahead are employees and ex-employees with valid claims should they be deterred from bringing them by this extra financial hurdle.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Muckle LLP—Rachael Chapman

Muckle LLP—Rachael Chapman

Sports, education and charities practice welcomes senior associate

Ellisons—Carla Jones

Ellisons—Carla Jones

Partner and head of commercial litigation joins in Chelmsford

Freeths—Louise Mahon

Freeths—Louise Mahon

Firm strengthens Glasgow corporate practice with partner hire

NEWS
One in five in-house lawyers suffer ‘high’ or ‘severe’ work-related stress, according to a report by global legal body, the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC)
The Legal Ombudsman’s (LeO’s) plea for a budget increase has been rejected by the Law Society and accepted only ‘with reluctance’ by conveyancers
Overcrowded prisons, mental health hospitals and immigration centres are failing to meet international and domestic human rights standards, the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) has warned
Two speedier and more streamlined qualification routes have been launched for probate and conveyancing professionals
Workplace stress was a contributing factor in almost one in eight cases before the employment tribunal last year, indicating its endemic grip on the UK workplace
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