Mr T Gracka, Consultant For the v Respondent — 2022

This judgment did not determine the underlying disability reasonable-adjustments claim. It dealt with the claimant's application to rely on a new document, the respondent's application to postpone the listed final hearing, and the respondent's applications for costs and wasted costs. The Tribunal allowed the new document, accepted that the respondent needed time to consider it, and postponed the merits hearing to 30 November 2022, 1 December 2022, and 2 December 2022.

On the Rule 76(2) costs application, the Tribunal found that the claimant had breached the Tribunal's directions by producing the new document on the first day of the final hearing rather than during disclosure or when witness statements were exchanged. The Tribunal considered that the late production caused the postponement and made the respondent incur avoidable attendance costs. It accepted that £750 was the amount sought for counsel's attendance, but after considering the claimant's income, ongoing employment, mortgage, children-related expenses, and treatment costs, it assessed that he could pay £500 without unjustifiable financial strain and ordered that sum to be paid by 26 April 2022.

The Tribunal dismissed the respondent's alternative wasted costs application under Rule 80. It referred to the authorities on wasted costs, including the need for great caution and the high threshold for improper, unreasonable, or negligent conduct by a representative. On the material before it, the Tribunal was not satisfied that the claimant's representatives had acted to the level required for a wasted costs order, and it said that even if negligence had been shown, it would not have been just to make such an order in the circumstances.