Costs in the Employment Tribunal
In a recent judgement of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (‘EAT’) it was decided that a claimant who accepted a settlement offer on the morning before the case was due to start, but had rejected the exact same settlement offer some months earlier, had acted unreasonably. The EAT was therefore justified in awarding costs to the other side.
This shows that the Employment Tribunals will consider awarding costs against claimants whose behaviour is considered unreasonable, such as where claimants do not accept initial reasonable offers to settle and/or fail to make reasonable counter-offers. The government’s current consultation into dealing with workplace disputes and possible reform of the Employment Tribunals considers the issue of costs in greater detail and it is hoped that any resultant changes to the Employment Tribunal system will augment their powers with a view to countering misconceived and vexatious claims. The ARC (the Association of Recruitment Consultancies) is pressing hard in this area and is participating in this consultation.
In the conclusion to this particular case (G4S Services v Rondeau) the EAT observed that the making and considering of offers to settle was “part and parcel of any litigation proceedings”.
Adrian, a highly experienced lawyer, founded Lawspeed in 1997. He is responsible for developing our extensive portfolio of products and services, including the widely used Lawspeed contract templates. Adrian is an expert on “recruitment law” and specialises in contracts, regulatory compliance, employment status and dispute handling. He is chair of the trade body the Association of Recruitment Consultancies, the only lawyer lead recruitment trade body in the UK. Adrian and his co-director Ravi devised Standards in Recruitment as a vehicle for helping drive up standards and compliance in the industry.
Adrian is our lead in discussions with the government over regulatory evolution. Apart from assisting with client support, Adrian’s primary role is research and development into methods of business delivery, our latest service Proterms being his most recent project. Adrian heads our IR35 lawyers team.