Mr D Robertson v Written submission Taskmaster Resources Ltd and 1 other — 2022

The claimant lodged proceedings on 21 December 2021 alleging unfair dismissal for making a protected disclosure and seeking arrears of pay and holiday pay, and he applied for interim relief. This decision did not determine those merits claims. It dealt with the first respondent's application for expenses following the cancellation of the listed interim relief hearing, which was converted into a case management preliminary hearing on 7 February 2022 after discussion with the claimant.

The tribunal held that the interim relief application had no reasonable prospects of success because interim relief under sections 94, 103A and 128 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 is available only to employees, and the claimant accepted that he was a worker rather than an employee. The judge noted that he could potentially pursue a detriment claim under section 47B ERA 1996, but that did not make the interim relief route competent.

Applying rule 76 and the guidance in Radia, the tribunal nevertheless refused to award expenses. The judge accepted that the legal position was complex for a lay claimant, that he was unrepresented, that the warning letter came shortly before the hearing, and that he did not appreciate the point until it was discussed in the hearing. The tribunal also took into account that the hearing time was used for case management, which allowed the later case management hearing to be cancelled, and it rejected the suggestion that the claimant's conduct crossed the threshold of being vexatious, abusive or disruptive. The first respondent's expenses application was therefore refused.