The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has criticised an employment law change made by the coalition government.

Under the new system, workers will be made to pay a fee in order to take their case to an employment tribunal.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said it is "completely unacceptable" workers could be forced to pay £250 to seek justice if their company has "flouted" the law.

"Because the fees will be paid upfront and only refunded if a claim succeeds, the poorest workers and those without union backing will struggle to pay these costs," he pointed out.

Mr Barber claimed ministers have failed to take into account the fact employees are going to be deterred from making a claim by the introduction of the fee.

A group of print workers from Gloucestershire recently won their case at an employment tribunal after they were not properly informed of the closure of Orchestra, BBC News reported, with redundancy payouts to be made as a result.