Today (9th July 2013) is the first day of the Judicial Review at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. The hearing is expected to last until tomorrow (10th July 2013) with a decision expected shortly after. A similar Judicial Review application is being considered in England although no date has yet been assigned for this hearing.
Tribunal fees are expected to come into force on 29th July 2013 along with new Tribunal Procedure Rules. Should either of the Judicial Review's be successful, it may put the introduction of fees on hold. Lower value claims such as unlawful deduction of wages will require the claimants to pay a fee of £160 when lodging their claim. Should the matter proceed to a hearing, there will be a further fee of £230. For higher value claims such as unfair dismissal, a fee to lodge the claim of £250 is required with a further hearing fee of £950. Whether or not these fees will automatically be recovered if a claimant is successful is not clear.
The proposed legislation on fees can be viewed here.
We will provide a further update as soon as a decision is reached by the Court of Session.