The Supreme Court has ruled that tribunal fees of up to £1,200, introduced by the Tories under David Cameron , are unlawful.

In a humiliating slapdown the Government will be forced to repay up to £27 million in fees already paid by workers pursuing employers for unfair dismissal, equal pay or discrimination and other issues.

Trade union Unison took the government to court, arguing the charges are illegal and discriminatory.

Their case was dismissed by the High Court, but they appealed to the Supreme Court, who today ruled in their favour.

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A review of the impact of the fees earlier this year showed there had been a 70% drop in the number of cases since they were introduced in 2013.

Low-paid women, especially those treated unfairly when they were pregnant or on maternity leave, were the biggest losers, an analysis by Unison found.

The seven Supreme Court judges ridiculed the government’s misunderstanding of “elementary economics, and plain common sense”, when it claimed higher fees would mean increased demand."

In their judgement, they ruled the fees had a "deterrent effect upon discrimination claims, among others” and put off more genuine cases than so-called ‘vexatious’ claims the government claimed the fees were supposed to deter.

The court said access to justice is of value to society as a whole, and that evidence showed fall in claims was “so sharp, so substantial and so sustained” that they could not reasonably be afforded by those on low to middle incomes.

Unison said the Government will have to refund more than £27 million to the thousands of people charged for taking claims to tribunal since July 2013, when fees were introduced by Chris Grayling, the then Lord Chancellor.

General secretary Dave Prentis said: "The Government is not above the law, but when ministers introduced fees they were disregarding laws many centuries old, and showing little concern for employees seeking justice following illegal treatment at work.

"The Government has been acting unlawfully, and has been proved wrong - not just on simple economics, but on constitutional law and basic fairness too.

(Image: Coventry Telegraph)

"It's a major victory for employees everywhere. Unison took the case on behalf of anyone who's ever been wronged at work, or who might be in future. Unscrupulous employers no longer have the upper hand.

"These unfair fees have let law-breaking bosses off the hook these past four years, and left badly treated staff with no choice but to put up or shut up.

"We'll never know how many people missed out because they couldn't afford the expense of fees, but at last this tax on justice has been lifted."

Unison's assistant general secretary Bronwyn McKenna said: "The Supreme Court correctly criticised the Government's failure when it set the fees to consider the public benefits flowing from the enforcement of legal rights enacted by Parliament.

"The effective enforcement of these rights is fundamental to Parliamentary democracy and integral to the development of UK law. Unison's case has helped clarify the law and gives certainty to citizens and businesses in their everyday lives."

The decision marks the end of a four-year fight by Unison to overturn the Government's introduction of fees.