MARIE Rimmer has urged the government to rethink the introduction of employment tribunal fees saying they are reducing "access to justice for many vulnerable people".

At a debate in Parliament, the St Helens South and Whiston MP highlighted the reduction in the number of employment tribunals following the introduction of fees in July 2013.

The changes were intended to recover costs and set a goal of reducing the number of claims submitted without merit.

However, the introduction has been met with some criticism and figures show the number of cases brought to tribunal have fallen by almost 70 per cent.

Of 83,000 cases to receive early conciliation notices, 15 per cent were settled, 22 per cent took their cases to tribunal and 63 per cent fell off the radar.

Surveys by ACAS have shown that fees required for a tribunal had put 26 per cent of claimants off pursuing their case.

Speaking during the debate, Ms Rimmer, who is on the Justice Select Committee, said: “Tribunal fees have the opposite effect to what the government is saying, they do not encourage early conciliation because the employer has no incentive to settle cases, they sit back and wait whilst many claimants have difficulty raising the tribunal fee."

She added: “The Law Society and the Police Action Lawyers Group in submissions stated that there is emerging evidence of people and employers hanging back. There is no evidence to suggest that these claims are without merit. The introduction of employment tribunal fees has had a significant adverse impact on access to justice for many vulnerable people.”

In response to Ms Rimmer's comments, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "It is right that those who use our tribunals should contribute to the £71million cost of running the service.

“The most vulnerable can apply to have their fees waived or reduced and we recently issued guidance raising awareness of this scheme.

"We are keen to promote alternative dispute resolution methods where possible, with the new Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) used by over 80,000 people in its first year."