The Ministry of Justice has published its long-awaited review of the introduction of Employment Tribunal fees.

In its view, the objectives of the scheme have been 'broadly met' with income generated at about £9m, matching their expectations, and a significant increase in the number of claims settling through Acas.

The review also admits that there is clear evidence that the fees have discouraged people from bringing claims but goes on to say that it can find "no conclusive evidence" that people have been prevented from doing so.

On the back of these findings, the Government has decided that changes to the Help With Fees Scheme could address the admitted concerns that the number of claims has fallen beyond expectations, particularly in relation to workplace discrimination. A consultation has been launched seeking feedback on, among other things, whether the monthly gross income threshold should rise from £1085 to £1250. Responses are sought by 13 March.

The review also contains some immediate changes to the fee scheme relating to claims form the National Insurance Fund. From today the following proceedings will be exempt from fees:

* references to the ETs related to a redundancy payment from the National Insurance Fund, under section 170 of the Employment Rights Act; * complaints that the Secretary of State has failed to make any, or insufficient, payment out of the National Insurance Fund, under section 188 of that Act; * complaints under section 128 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993.

You can download the full review and the consultation questions from the MoJ site here.