On 3 October 2011 the Business Secretary Vince Cable and the Chancellor George Osborne announced that the period for the right to claim unfair dismissal will be extended from one year to two years. This means that employees will have to acquire two years’ continuous service with an employer before they have the right to make a claim for unfair dismissal. This change will come into force on 6 April 2012.
It was also reported in the Evening Standard that the Chancellor is to clamp down on vexatious claimants in the Employment Tribunal. It seems claimants will have to pay a fee of £250 when issuing a Claim Form (ET1) and pay a further fee (rumoured as being £1,000) when the case is listed for a hearing. If the claimant wins that money will be refunded but not if he loses. It has also seems that the above fees will be higher where a claimant claim is for more than £30,000 but fee exemptions will be introduced (similar to the Civil Courts) where claimants are on a reduced income.
