Employment Legal Aid to be Cut

The government is consulting on major changes to the legal aid system in England and Wales which will impact on employment cases.

Although legal aid is not currently available for representation in employment tribunals (as opposed to the EAT), up to £250 is currently available under the Legal Help scheme for advice and assistance in preparing or settling a case.

The consultation proposes to exclude all employment cases from the scope of civil legal aid (including appeals to the EAT), apart from discrimination cases where the current arrangements would remain.   The proposal is part of its plan to cut £350 million per year (15 per cent) from the £2.2bn legal aid budget.

The government’s rationale is that legal aid is not needed in employment cases because claimants have an ability to represent themselves in the employment tribunal ‚Äì which is considered by the MoJ to be easily accessible and user-friendly.

The consultation ends on 14 February 2011