AWARD OF COSTS

Readers who are concerned that the removal of employment tribunal fees may encourage an onslaught of claims may be interested in a recent employment tribunal case, Gosalakkal v University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. The claimant, a doctor, and a litigant in person, has been ordered to pay £82,930.86 in costs to the Trust for his 'unreasonable behaviour' in a case concerning breach of contract, public interest disclosure, unfair dismissal, and race discrimination. Rule 78 of the Employment Tribunals (Constitution & Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2013, states that a tribunal may make a costs order for a sum not exceeding £20k, or an amount determined by a detailed assessment.

The costs order is one of the highest ever recorded in an ET case.