UNISON’s application for a Judicial Review (JR) challenging the legality of the introduction of fees for using employment tribunals and the EAT was refused on paper (without a hearing) on 23 July, but the union renewed the application and sought an oral hearing. On 29 July, the Royal Courts of Justice granted the union permission for a full JR which will now be heard in October 2013. UNISON argue that the Government should not put a price on justice and in any event fees are unlawful because they make it hard to exercise individual rights conferred by European Community law, fees are not payable at all in most claims brought to the First-Tier Tribunal, there has been no proper assessment of the Public Sector Equality Duty and fees are indirectly discriminatory because they have a disproportionate adverse impact on women and there is no evidence of the measure being a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
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