EAT Practice and Procedure : Withdrawal, dismissal, and costs
On the second day of a hearing the Claimant’s representative, his wife, withdrew the Claimant’s claim; the Respondent applied for the claim to be dismissed on withdrawal; the ET dismissed it; the Respondent applied for costs; the Claimant and his wife left during the application despite being asked to listen to it; and the ET made an order for costs against the Claimant in the sum of andpound;1050.
It was argued that in the circumstances the Claimant’s representative did not have ‘capacity’ to withdraw his claim when she did, and the ET should have considered and enquired into her state of health and authority to withdraw the proceedings before treating the withdrawal as valid and in any event before dismissing the claim. It was further argued that the claim should not have been dismissed in the absence of a written application. It was further argued that the ET should have afforded the Claimant an opportunity to make submissions on the question of costs. Affidavits were lodged as to what took place at the hearing and the comments of the Employment Judge and ET members were sought.
Held: Appeal dismissed. In the circumstances as the EAT found them to be the ET did not have a duty to enquire into the health of the Claimant’s representative; the Claimant’s representative had authority to withdraw the claim and the ET did not have a duty to enquire into her authority or to see whether the Claimant agreed with her decision. The ET was entitled to determine the question of dismissal without a written application. The Claimant and his representative having left during the making of the application for costs, the ET was not under a duty to give them a further opportunity to make submissions.
Judges:
Richardson J
Citations:
[2012] UKEAT 0171 – 12 – 1302
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Employment, Costs
Updated: 14 November 2022; Ref: scu.470963