Costs in Employment Tribunals, 2nd Edition

While the civil courts ordinarily award costs to the successful party, it was previously rare for employment tribunals to do the same. Costs orders are now becoming more common in tribunal cases where one party acted unreasonably or where the bringing or conduct of the case was misconceived. Employment lawyers must therefore be aware of how to obtain costs awards for clients, and how to avoid having one made against them, even if they are the winning party.

Costs in Employment Tribunals meets the needs of practitioners, analysing what tribunals are doing and, more importantly, why they are doing so. Uniquely, it draws on decisions in approximately 100 unreported tribunal cases where costs were awarded or refused, offering the reader clarity on how costs decisions are made in these cases.

The new edition has been completely revised in light of the Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2013. The key changes covered include:

• The power of the Tribunal Judge to conduct a detailed assessment of costs in excess of £20,000 adopting the same principles as the County Court in doing so
• A power entitling a party to have their tribunal fee paid by another party
• A specific power relating to the payment of the expenses of witnesses
• Circumstances in which a tribunal may make a costs order or Preparation Time Order

There is commentary on a number of new cases including key court appeal decisions Sud v London Boroughof Ealing 2013 and Yerrakalva v Barnsley Metropolitan Council 2012, the EAT ‘threshold test’ in AQ Ltd v Holden 2012 and an update on costs in Scottish cases.