We both stand by Michael’s original post. It contains generalisations, and it is in the nature of generalisations that they don’t apply to all cases. But in general, we think the chances of a costs order in a reasonable case properly run are very small indeed.

What we haven’t said – and don’t mean – is that costs are never awarded against a claimant in such circumstances. Long odds do come up from time to time, and occasionally a claimant who had a perfectly respectable case and ran it in a reasonable way will nevertheless face a costs order. We don’t say this can’t happen – just that it doesn’t happen very often. We know nothing about Jenny Shulter’s circumstances of course, but it is perfectly possible that she was unlucky in this way.

But it is important to recognise that a lot of claimants do come away from employment tribunal proceedings with a strong sense of injustice. It’s a process that can right wrongs, and sometimes does – but it is also imperfect, and when it fails it generally doesn’t just fail to make things better – it makes them much worse. No claimant should start a claim without first making a clear-eyed assessment of all the risks. We say more about this in Chapter 1 of the book (which you can download from this blog) under the heading ‘Whether to bring a claim.’