Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Ratification: 1971)

Enforcement. The Committee notes the adoption in July 2013 of the Employment Tribunals and Employment Appeal Tribunal Fees Order 2013 which introduces a requirement to pay a fee to issue proceedings in the employment tribunals. The Committee notes from statistics compiled by the Ministry of Justice that since the introduction of these fees, the number of discrimination claims has dropped considerably, in particular, those related to equal pay issues. The Committee notes that comparing the period from October to December 2013 (the first quarter after fees were introduced) with the period October–December 2012, 83 per cent fewer equal pay claims were accepted by the employment tribunals. The Committee notes that the decreasing trend has continued. The Committee understands that the introduction of fees has been challenged before the judicial authorities. The Committee considers that the establishment of high fees to file claims on discrimination may constitute an obstacle to the enjoyment of the rights embedded in the Convention, particularly as this affects mainly those most disadvantaged and vulnerable to discrimination. The Committee asks the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that all workers are able, in practice, to effectively assert their rights before the courts. In this regard, the Committee asks the Government, based on the existing statistics concerning the steep reduction of complaints concerning discrimination filed before the employment tribunals, to review the existing fees established by the Employment Tribunals and Employment Appeal Tribunal Fees Order 2013 and to continue to provide statistical information on the evolution of the filing of equal pay claims. Please provide information on the judicial decision concerning the claim filed before the judicial authorities concerning the employment tribunal fees.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2015.]