The claimant in this GB tribunal case unsuccessfully claimed for breach of contract, unfair dismissal, race discrimination, and public interest disclosures. A costs order was made against him and he was ordered to pay the respondent’s costs to be assessed as a result of what was considered his unreasonable conduct during the proceedings. This included abruptly leaving the hearing room and not returning to the hearing centre at all that particular day.

A detailed assessment hearing was then listed and the claimant argued that the respondent’s legal fees were excessive despite being substantially lower than relevant published guidance rates. The crux of the claimant’s argument appeared to centre on the contention that simply because guideline rates exist, those do not necessarily need to be applied.

The respondent initially sought costs of £98,321 but the tribunal judge eventually ordered the claimant to pay £82,930 taking into account case preparation completed by legal professionals with varying levels of experience.

Practical Lessons

The 2013 Employment Tribunals (Constitution & Rules of Procedure) Regulations in England & Wales substantially increased the power of judges to award cost orders which prompted public bodies in particular to vigorously seek recovery of what is essentially public money. While the upper limit in E&W is £20,000, the maximum awardable in NI is £10,000 pursuant to rule 41(1))a) of the Industrial Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations (NI) 2005.

A tribunal may alternatively decide to order a detailed assessment by the County Court, in which case the limit does not apply. However, recent NI cases show that even claimants who have unnecessarily elongated the process and caused additional costs to be incurred are not often ordered to pay extremely large sums. Perhaps this authority can influence a change, particularly with respect to cases where the respondent’s bill of costs is substantially higher than the amount able to be awarded by a tribunal.

Original hearing and costs decisions:
https://www.gov.uk/employment-tribunal-decisions/dr-j-gosalakkal-v-university-hospitals-of-leicester-nhs-trust-1900030-2012