Supreme Court to give judgment in employment tribunal fees case

Judgment will be given next week by the UK Supreme Court on the legality of the fees being charged by employment tribunals.

Introduced in 2013, the fees resulted in a fall of around 70% in the number of claims being taken to tribunals. The trade union UNISON has challenged the fees as in breach of the EU principle of effectiveness, and as indirectly discriminatory in that they have a greater impact on less well off claimants, more of whom are women.

The High Court and Court of Appeal found in favour of the Lord Chancellor and the union has appealed. The decision will be delivered on Wednesday 26 July.

On the same day the court will give its decision in the Scottish appeal McDonald v McDonald, which deals with the correct application of the formula for determining what proportion of a pension is matrimonial property for the purposes of valuation on a divorce, and what counts as "membership" of the pension arrangement.