Since 6th April 2010 workers awarded payouts from their former employers at Employment Tribunals have been given additional help to ensure they receive their payments.

The Employment Tribunal Fast Track scheme has been introduced to simplify the process for successful tribunal applicants who can now call on an extended service from the High Court Enforcement Officers if the other party fails to pay the award ordered by an Employment Tribunal.

An Enforcement Officer will complete the court processes for them and move on to enforcement as soon as possible.

The scheme applies only in England and Wales, to awards of £600 or more and debts up to 6 years old.

To start the fast track process is easy for the employee. The only cost to them would be the £50 court fee needed to issue a writ to seize assets which will cover the amounts they are owed and this will be added to the debt owed by their employer.

The £70.50 the High Court Enforcement Officer would normally charge the employee if the award could not be recovered will be waived.

The Ministry of Justice published a report in May 2009 that showed 39% of people granted awards by tribunals had not been paid and only 53% were paid in full.

Details of individuals and companies who have failed to make payments have been added to a searchable database to encourage others to make sure they paid up.

The database, which can be searched by members of the public and credit reference firms, contains details of defaulters who have court judgments, orders, criminal fines and now tribunal awards registered against them.

High Court Enforcement Officers will be required to keep detailed statistics on the cases they enforce. An evaluation of the scheme will be carried out after two years.

Enforcement of Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Services (ACAS) settlements is expected to be added to the Fast Track scheme at a later date.