The CEO of West Dunbartonshire’s Citizens Advice Bureau has welcomed last week’s decision by the UK’s top court to ban the charging of fees for employment tribunal cases.

The decision from the UK Supreme Court outlaws the practice first introduced by the UK Government in 2013 with the intention to cut down the number of malicious cases being pursued.

The introduction of the fees had led to a reduction of around 79 per cent in the number of cases being pursued over the last three years, with unions claiming that the practice had restricted the availability of justice to workers.

WDCAB, based in Dumbarton, said that it supported the decision and criticised the fees as acting as an “unlawful barrier” to justice and made it harder for people to claim.

WDCAB’s CEO, Joe McCormack, said that it had won around £64,000 for clients in 2013 before the fees were introduced, but that it had not seen a single case in the last year due to the financial burden of bringing a tribunal case forward.

Mr McCormack said: “We have consistently opposed employment tribunal fees. All the evidence shows that these fees, sometimes up to £1,600, make it harder for people to claim, even when they have been harassed and treated unfairly at work.

“Fees have also negatively affected the power balance between workers, especially low-paid workers, and unscrupulous employers.

“The number of cases we see of mistreatment of employees and workers hasn’t reduced but there has been an 80 per cent drop in ET claims.

“Even more concerning is that in cases of sex and pregnancy discrimination there has been a 90 per cent fall in claims and that’s simply because access to justice has become expensive.”

The government has accepted the decision made by the court and has promised to take steps to stop charging and refund payments, with the fees thought to have brought in around £32m since being introduced.

Mr McCormack added: “We’re pleased that the government has said it will refund people who have paid out to bring their case to tribunal since 2013, but now we need more than that.

“When the government introduced the fees, they also introduced the two-year rule, which means that employees with less than two years’ service often can’t claim unfair dismissal.

“We support the calls on the government to create a single fair work authority to make it easier for people to get the rights they’re entitled to by clamping down on unlawful business practice.”

The decision was also welcomed by Dumbarton and the Vale’s MSP Jackie Baillie, who said the decision represented a “huge victory”.

Ms Baillie said: “I am over the moon that the Supreme Court has ruled that employment tribunal fees are unlawful.

“This is a huge victory for workers and I congratulate Unison for taking on the Tory government and winning.

“At a time when the gender pay gap is already too wide, many women could no longer afford to uphold their rights at work if an unscrupulous boss tried to sack them to avoid maternity leave obligations.”

Meanwhile, Annabelle Ewing, legal affairs minister, said: “We strongly opposed the UK Government’s introduction of employment tribunal fees and had committed to abolishing the fees in Scotland when the management and operation of employment tribunals are devolved.

“The Scottish Government is delighted the UK Supreme Court has ruled employment tribunal fees to be unlawful.

“We will continue to work with stakeholders, including trade unions, to ensure the new employment tribunal system in Scotland provides access to justice and contributes to our vision for Fair Work to be embedded in all workplaces in Scotland.”