The Law Society of Scotland has urged the Scottish and UK Governments to rethink employment tribunal fees. In its report, ‘Employment Tribunal Fees’, the Law Society has said the fees represent a major barrier to access to justice and are behind an 81% drop in the number of cases going before employment tribunals since their introduction in July 2013. The Law Society believes the current system to be highly unfair and is preventing legitimate cases being heard by a tribunal, to the detriment of access to justice, as the overwhelming majority of respondents stated that the level of the fees prevented people with valid claims from raising them at an employment tribunal. The knock-on effect is that employers no longer feel that they have to find resolution, believing that they can proceed as they wish in the knowledge that a member of staff or former employee won't raise a claim against because of the cost involved. Because of their grave concerns, the Society have written to the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Justice, calling for an urgent review of fees.

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