B Mitchell v Novaplex Business Solutions Limited — 2025

This is a costs judgment following the dismissal of the Claimant's substantive claims by an earlier judgment sent to the parties on 15 October 2025. The Respondent applied under Rule 74 of the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024 for £20,000 in costs (its schedule totalled £25,314 but the application was capped under Rule 76(1)(a)), relying on the grounds that the claims had no reasonable prospect of success and that the Claimant had acted vexatiously and/or unreasonably.

Employment Judge Burge found that the threshold under Rule 74(2) was not met in relation to the pension contributions, commission or share options complaints. The pension clause was not well drafted, the Claimant's refusal of a £2,568.30 settlement offer was not unreasonable, and the commission and share options complaints were discontinued on Counsel's advice on the morning of the hearing. The threshold was, however, met in relation to the wrongful dismissal complaint: the Judge concluded that it objectively had no reasonable prospects of success and that the Claimant acted unreasonably in continuing to pursue it, noting that the Claimant had limited legal advice from solicitors throughout and Counsel for the final hearing, and was aware of his own conduct in relation to the laptop and retained data.

Exercising discretion and having regard to proportionality, possible duplication with parallel breach of confidence proceedings, the one-day hearing length and the Claimant's submissions about his means and property, the Tribunal ordered the Claimant to pay £5,000 as a contribution to the Respondent's costs, payable within 28 days.