UNISON has announced that it will apply to the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal the High Court's ruling rejecting its claim for Judicial Review of the Government's decision to introduce tribunal fees. The union will ask the Court of Appeal to consider the “shocking figures” released last month that revealed Employment Tribunal claims dropped by 79% in the last quarter of 2013 after the Government imposed fees. UNISON argued that the introduction of fees would deny access to justice for workers treated unfairly by employers and would therefore be unlawful, and that the requirement to pay fees has a disproportionate impact on women, but the High Court ruled that because the fees were introduced in July of 2013 the full impact could not yet be judged.

See tomorrow's report on the Government indicating that it is considering lowering fees.

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