Costs in the Employment Tribunal
Posted in Employment law on August 9th, 2011 by adminMarker down re costs in the Employment Tribunal
One of the most frustrating aspects of the current Employment Tribunal system for employers is the general “no costs “rule for claims made in the Tribunal.
This, combined with the fact that there are no court fees payable for Tribunal claims (unlike almost all other court services in England & Wales) has meant that many employees and ex-emp0loyees have felt that they have nothing to lose by bringing a claim, even if only motivated by spite or perceived revenge.
Bearing in mind employers can easily rack up costs of thousands defending any employment claim, many opt for making payouts, often via compromise agreements, as the “lesser of 2 evils”.
The employment tribunal does have discretion to award legal costs against either party based on abusive, vexatious or disruptive behavior, although historically such orders have been rare, but perhaps they are now on the increase.
In a recent case, costs awarded against an employee were awarded and these have now been assessed and moderated at a staggering £100,000.00, which is way above the usual limit of £10,000.00 (again the Tribunal has discretion to allow more than this basic limit).
Is this just a one-off case or does it herald a new approach by the Tribunals which will stem the ever increasing tide of tribunal claims ?
