Claimant v Prestige BB Limited

Outcome

Facts

The claimant brought claims for unfair dismissal and holiday pay. A key dispute concerned whether he had two years' qualifying service. Mrs Mayat, representing the respondent, engaged in unreasonable conduct throughout the proceedings: she failed to comply with case management orders for disclosure, sent repeated inappropriate emails to the tribunal, made personal slurs about the claimant in the ET3, and necessitated a case management hearing. A professional representative was instructed on 27 September 2024, after which the respondent's conduct improved. At the October 2024 hearing, Mrs Mayat gave unreliable and contradictory evidence as the respondent's sole witness.

Decision

The tribunal found in favour of the claimant on both claims, finding his evidence more credible than Mrs Mayat's unreliable testimony. The tribunal awarded a preparation time order of £294.80 for work done by the claimant's lay representative between 1 April and 28 September 2024, finding that Mrs Mayat's unreasonable conduct—particularly her persistent failure to comply with disclosure orders—unnecessarily inflated the claimant's costs during that period.

Practical note

Legal authorities cited