Is there a fee to make an employment tribunal claim?

No. Employment tribunal claim fees were abolished by the Supreme Court in R (Unison) v Lord Chancellor [2017] UKSC 51, which quashed the Employment Tribunals and Employment Appeal Tribunal Fees Order 2013. As at 2026, you can lodge an unfair dismissal, discrimination, or other employment tribunal claim with no fee. A separate £80 issue fee and £500 hearing fee remain in the Employment Appeal Tribunal for appeals.

Can I get the employer to pay my legal fees if I win?

Usually no. In employment tribunals, each party normally bears its own legal costs regardless of the outcome. A costs order can only be made against the losing party for unreasonable conduct (a vexatious claim, lying, or rejecting a reasonable settlement offer). This means even if you win, you typically cannot recover your solicitor's fees from the employer. The £10,000+ solicitor cost is genuinely yours to bear unless funded by insurance, a CFA, or a union.

Can I represent myself at an employment tribunal?

Yes. Tribunals are designed to be accessible without legal representation, and many claimants succeed unrepresented. ACAS provides free guidance, Citizens Advice runs employment-rights services, and the tribunal panel is experienced with litigants in person. The downside is that employers usually instruct experienced employment solicitors and barristers, so the proceeding can feel uneven. For complex discrimination or whistleblowing claims, legal representation materially improves your chances.

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Employment Law

Employment Tribunal Cost UK 2026

Zero claim fee. £0 to file. Solicitor fees £10,000 to £25,000 if you instruct one (rarely recoverable from the employer). ACAS, CFA, and trade-union routes explained. Updated May 2026.

The big numbers

Component	Cost
Tribunal claim fee	£0 (abolished 2017)
ACAS early conciliation	Free (mandatory)
Solicitor (unfair dismissal, full representation)	£10,000 to £25,000 + VAT
Solicitor (discrimination / whistleblowing)	£15,000 to £50,000 + VAT
Settlement agreement review (employer-funded)	£250 to £500 + VAT
Barrister (tribunal hearing day rate)	£1,500 to £7,500 + VAT/day
Employment Appeal Tribunal issue fee	£80
Employment Appeal Tribunal hearing fee	£500

Sources: R (Unison) v Lord Chancellor [2017] UKSC 51 (abolition of tribunal fees), ACAS (early conciliation), Law Society Fee Survey (solicitor and barrister ranges), HMCTS for EAT fees.

Step 1: ACAS early conciliation (free, mandatory)

Before lodging a tribunal claim you must notify ACAS and give them an opportunity to broker a settlement. This is free, mandatory, and takes up to 6 weeks. ACAS contacts both you and your employer to test whether a deal can be reached. If conciliation succeeds, you sign a COT3 settlement agreement, are paid, and the matter ends. If it fails, ACAS issues a certificate (with a reference number) allowing you to proceed to tribunal.

Roughly half of all ACAS-conciliated cases settle without going to tribunal. The free ACAS service is the single most cost-effective intervention in any employment dispute.

Step 2: lodge the ET1 claim (free)

If conciliation fails you have 3 months less one day from the act complained of (or, for discrimination, from the last act in a continuing course of conduct) to lodge the ET1 claim form. There is no fee. Lodge online at gov.uk/employment-tribunals.

Step 3: instruct a solicitor (or self-represent)

This is the cost-bearing decision point. The four routes:

Self-represent. £0 in legal fees. ACAS guidance, Citizens Advice, and the tribunal's own practice directions are designed for litigants in person. Most viable for straightforward unfair dismissal claims with a clear factual narrative.
Trade union representation. If you are a member, most unions provide legal representation for employment claims free of charge as a member benefit. If you are not a union member, joining mid-dispute generally does not get you free representation -- unions vet new members' claims first.
Solicitor on a conditional fee (CFA, no-win-no-fee). The solicitor charges you nothing if you lose, and takes a success fee (typically 25 to 100 per cent uplift on their base fee) from your award if you win. Many UK employment specialists offer CFA for clear-cut cases worth £15,000+.
Solicitor on full private retainer. Hourly rate (£177 to £393/hr Grade B GHR by region) or fixed fee. Total cost £10,000 to £25,000 for a typical unfair dismissal up to and including final hearing; £15,000 to £50,000 for discrimination or whistleblowing. Suitable if you can afford to lose this money since it is rarely recoverable.

Compensation: what tribunals award

If you win, the tribunal can award:

Basic award (unfair dismissal): calculated by age × years of service × week's pay (capped at £700/week from April 2024). Maximum approximately £21,000.
Compensatory award (unfair dismissal): capped at the lower of 52 weeks' pay or £115,115 (April 2024 figure, uprated annually).
Discrimination claims: uncapped. Injury to feelings awarded on the Vento bands (lower £1,200 to £11,700, middle £11,700 to £35,200, upper £35,200 to £58,700; updated annually for inflation).
Whistleblowing claims: uncapped.

Median tribunal awards (where the claimant wins) sit at £6,500 to £8,500 across all claim types. Mean awards are higher because of the long tail of large discrimination awards. About 60 per cent of cases that reach a full hearing succeed on at least part of the claim.

Costs orders: when the loser pays

In employment tribunals, costs orders are exceptional, not the default. Unlike civil litigation, the tribunal does not award costs to the winner as standard. Costs orders are made only where one side acted unreasonably: pursued a hopeless claim or defence, lied, made baseless allegations, or refused a reasonable settlement offer. Costs awards are typically modest (£1,000 to £20,000). Above £20,000 the tribunal must order a means assessment of the paying party.

Practical consequence: even if you win a clean unfair dismissal claim, you will usually not recover your £15,000 solicitor fee from the employer. Factor this into the cost-benefit decision before instructing privately.