PART IEmployment Tribunals

Costs etc, interest and enforcement

13 Costs and expenses.

F1(1)

Employment tribunal procedure regulations may include provision—

(a)

for the award of costs or expenses;

(b)

for the award of any allowances payable under section 5(2)(c) or (3).

(1A)

Regulations under subsection (1) may include provision authorising an employment tribunal to have regard to a person’s ability to pay when considering the making of an award against him under such regulations.

(1B)

Employment tribunal procedure regulations may include provision for authorising an employment tribunal—

(a)

to disallow all or part of the costs or expenses of a representative of a party to proceedings before it by reason of that representative’s conduct of the proceedings;

(b)

to order a representative of a party to proceedings before it to meet all or part of the costs or expenses incurred by a party by reason of the representative’s conduct of the proceedings;

(c)

to order a representative of a party to proceedings before it to meet all or part of any allowances payable by the Secretary of State under section 5(2)(c) or (3) by reason of the representative’s conduct of the proceedings.

(1C)

Employment tribunal procedure regulations may also include provision for taxing or otherwise settling the costs or expenses referred to in subsection (1)(a) or (1B)(b) (and, in particular in England and Wales, for enabling the amount of such costs to be assessed by way of detailed assessment in F2 the county court ).

(2)

In relation to proceedings under section 111 of the M1Employment Rights Act 1996—

(a)

where the employee has expressed a wish to be reinstated or re-engaged which has been communicated to the employer at least seven days before the hearing of the complaint, F3. . .

F4(b)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F5employment tribunal procedure regulations shall include provision for requiring the employer to pay the costs or expenses of any postponement or adjournment of the hearing caused by his failure, without a special reason, to adduce reasonable evidence as to the availability of the job from which the complainant was dismissed F3. . . or of comparable or suitable employment.

F6(3)

Provision included in employment tribunal procedure regulations under subsection (1) must include provision for requiring an employment tribunal, in any proceedings in which a late postponement application has been granted, to consider whether to make an award against the party who made the application in respect of any costs or expenses connected with the postponement, except in circumstances specified in the regulations.

(4)

For the purposes of subsection (3)—

(a)

a late postponement application is an application for the postponement of a hearing in the proceedings which is made after a time determined in accordance with the regulations (whether before or after the hearing has begun), and

(b)

“postponement” includes adjournment.