They were abolished, and they did not come back

Fees to bring an Employment Tribunal claim were introduced in 2013 and struck down in July 2017, when the Supreme Court held them unlawful in the case brought by UNISON. The government refunded what had been collected. A limited issue fee has been consulted on since and is not in force.

People still budget for them. It is one of the few places in this area where the surprise runs the client’s way, and it is worth knowing before deciding whether a claim is worth bringing.

What a claim does cost

Advice time, the preparation of the claim itself, counsel where counsel is instructed, and the time spent at hearing. Early conciliation through ACAS is free and is a required step before most claims can be issued at all.

Where fees do apply

A money claim in the County Court is a different animal. There the issue fee runs on a published scale keyed to the value of the claim, and a separate hearing fee falls due if the matter is listed. A claim that settles between issue and listing never pays the second one, which is why the timing of an offer can matter as much as its size.

The estimator on this site covers the money claim scale. For a tribunal claim the honest answer is that the court charges nothing and the cost is the time.