Mr A Morris v Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust — 2026

The judgment dealt with the respondent's application to strike out the claimant's unauthorised deductions from wages complaint and the respondent's application for costs arising from the postponement and relisting of the hearing. Employment Judge Leach, sitting alone, refused the strike-out application. The judge recorded that the claimant had acted unreasonably by not complying with tribunal orders and that a fair trial was not possible on 11 May 2026, but considered strike out disproportionate given the apparent strength of the wages complaint and the availability of less draconian options including an unless order or costs order.

The tribunal then considered the respondent's costs application under the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2024. It found that the claimant had applied for the wages complaint to be determined at a preliminary hearing, but after the 5 December 2025 case management hearing he did not comply with Employment Judge Kenward's orders or engage cooperatively with correspondence intended to prepare for the hearing. The judge found that this conduct was disruptive and unreasonable within Rule 74(2)(a), causing the hearing of the wages complaint to be postponed and a day's hearing to be lost.

The respondent limited its costs application to £6,500 and counsel's fee for the day was identified as £2,500, but there was no detailed breakdown of the whole sum. The claimant said he had no money to pay a costs order. The tribunal ordered the claimant to pay £1,500 in costs by 30 November 2026, finding that at least that amount in costs would be completely lost because of the postponed final hearing, while some of the claimed costs would have been incurred anyway or might not need to be repeated in full.