Member Article

Unfair dismissal claims fall by two-thirds in the North East

The number of people taking their boss to employment tribunal over unfair dismissal has fallen by 64 per cent across the North East over the last year, according to new analysis published by the TUC today.

The analysis, which has been published to mark the first anniversary of the introduction of tribunal fees, shows that just 477 North East workers took their employer to a tribunal over unfair dismissal between January and March 2014, compared to 1,317 over the same period in 2013.

The sharp drop is down to the introduction of fees in July 2013.

The TUC says the fall shows that many people are being priced out of justice, with low-paid workers in the region particularly affected.

Under the new system, workers face having to pay up to £1,200 to take an unfair dismissal claim to tribunal, including minimum wage workers if a member of their household has savings of £3,000.

The government has set up a remission scheme for low-paid employees but official figures show that only in four UK workers who applied for financial assistance to take an employment tribunal have been given any form of help.

TUC Northern Regional Secretary Beth Farhat said: “The huge drop in cases taken doesn’t mean that bosses in the North East have got a whole lot nicer in the past year. It’s simply because pursuing a complaint against a bad employer has become too expensive for many workers, and that is just plain wrong.

“In the past there were no fees, workers who felt they’d been wronged could have their case heard, and the tribunal would either find for them or in their employer’s favour. But last summer, the government decided to restrict justice to those who could afford to pay a fee.

“The introduction of tribunal fees is part of a wider government campaign to get rid of workers’ basic rights.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .