Hyo Eun Shin why the labor court system should be accessible to all

Working from 9 to 5 is a great way to earn a living.

The world of work has moved on since Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” an upbeat critique of corporate America, became her first hit.

Since then, the UK has won many improvements to workers’ rights, including the introduction of a national minimum wage and legal protections against discrimination in the workplace.

Yet Dolly’s lyrics capture something many people recognize to this day: the need to earn a living and the inherent power imbalance between workers and those they work for.

Citizens Advice Scotland sees first-hand what this means for people who have been treated unfairly at work. Last year, advice websites on work our public advice page views almost 135,000 times. During the same period, advisers in local Citizens Advice Bureaux supported thousands of people across the country, providing more than 32,000 pieces of advice tailored to individual needs and circumstances to help resolve problems at work.

Early advice and resolution of workplace disputes will usually benefit both employees and employers – clarifying everyone’s rights and responsibilities can reduce stress and the amount of time and money spent. However, sometimes employees will need to go to an employment tribunal to challenge unfairness at work. This is crucial to our employment rights – because rights are worthless if they cannot be enforced.

If you have been unfairly dismissed or discriminated against at work, had your wages withheld or were denied rest breaks, there should be no cost to you in going to an employment tribunal.

In 2013, the UK government introduced fees for employment tribunals and employment appeal tribunals. This coincided with a significant fall in the number of cases brought to court and was found to be unlawful and subsequently overturned by the Supreme Court in 2017. However, before the last general election, the UK government at the time it was proposed to reintroduce fees to the labour court system.

This is clearly wrong. Court fees would make it even harder for workers to access justice and protect themselves from unfair practices. People already face many obstacles to making claims: there is a shortage of legal aid lawyers in large parts of Scotland, and unions can help, but many people cannot find lawyers with experience in employment law. So, while employers are usually represented by lawyers, employees often face their own employer – which puts them at a disadvantage from the start.

Fear of retaliation or victimisation, health concerns, financial pressures and stress can all lead people to feel they have no choice but to give up seeking justice. This is often worse for those whose employment rights are more vulnerable, such as people with disabilities, those in precarious or insecure employment, migrant workers and pregnant women.

If Scotland is to be a fair and just place to live and work, we cannot afford a system where court fees make it even harder for people to access justice in the workplace, so We strongly opposed these proposalsWe hope the new government’s manifesto promise to “deliver a new deal for working people” will put these charges aside once and for all.

Hyo Eun Shin works with the Strong Communities team at Citizens Advice Scotland.

This column was originally published in the Herald.