New tribunal fees ‘have given sexist bosses free licence to discriminate’

Sexist bosses are being given “free licence” to discriminate against women because of new employment tribunal fees, the leader of London’s barristers warned today.

Max Hill QC said the introduction of charges of up to £1,200 to bring cases before a tribunal had led to an 80 per cent drop in the number of claims and was preventing women from pursuing legitimate complaints.

He added that the fees — which came into effect in July 2013, replacing a system of free access — were also making it harder to bring race and disability discrimination claims and should be scrapped or scaled back to ensure that equality was not undermined.

Today’s call by Mr Hill, the head of the South East Circuit, follows a pledge by Justice Secretary Michael Gove to examine the impact of the fees. He told the Commons Justice Select Committee, which has launched an inquiry, that there was no evidence yet that charges were stopping people from bringing “meritorious claims”, but promised to look again at the issue if “hard cases” were uncovered.

Mr Hill said he and his colleagues would be presenting Mr Gove with examples of women and other victims who had been deterred from bringing claims by the cost. He added: “This country has made great progress in recent decades towards ensuring equality and fairness in the workplace. These fees threaten to reverse that.”

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced that she will scrap tribunal fees when a transfer of powers from Westminster takes place. The new fees system means that individuals must pay up to £1,200 for a first hearing at a tribunal. Higher charges apply for cases brought by several claimants. Exemptions mean that the poorest do not have to pay.

Women who have brought tribunal cases in London include sales executives Diana Nicholl-Pierson and Anna Mazover, whose claims of harassment and victimisation were partially upheld last year. The tribunal found that their boss Darren Scott was “fixated” on Miss Nicholl-Pierson’s breasts and groped her bottom, and also fondled Miss Mazover, whom he falsely accused of being a sex worker.