A silver lining?

http://thejusticegap.com/2014/02/lord-chancellor-hoisted-petard/

The link above is to an analysis of the outcome of UNISON's challenge, by way of judicial review, to the outrageous decision of the Coalition Government to impose fees upon claimants in the employment tribunals.

This analysis was recommended to me by an informed source and puts into context the "headline" news - which is (as any reader of this blog is likely to be aware) that the court refused to overturn the imposition of fees.

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This was, quite obviously, a defeat.

However, not only did the Government concede that successful claimants will generally recover their fees (a concession to this legal challenge) but - more significantly - the key challenge on the question of whether tribunal fees will so discourage claimants as to render the law against discrimination ineffective - was defeated only because, at the point of the hearing, there was insufficient evidence that this is what was happening.

As further evidence becomes available a further legal challenge could be made - and I hope it will.

It's hard enough to challenge discrimination without the added hurdle of tribunal fees. Labour needs to make an immediate, high-profile and unequivocal pledge to repeal this pernicious restriction upon the rights of working people.

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone on the EE network.