The Claimant was unsuccessful in her substantive claims and subsequently a costs order was made against her. She applied for reconsideration of the costs order and in connection with that she sought orders from the ET requiring the Respondents to provide information in response to questions relating to its conduct of the litigation. She also sought orders for disclosure, inspection and third party disclosure. She said this material was relevant to her grounds for reconsideration as she contended that the Respondents’ own conduct should have been taken into account in determining the costs issue. Her applications were contained in letters to the ET in June 2018. She sent chasing correspondence in August 2019. The ET refused her applications and she appealed.

The EAT allowed the appeal on the basis that the EJ had failed to take into account relevant considerations, namely the reconsideration application and the two 2018 applications; the available materials indicated these documents were not before her when she made her decision. Secondly, there was a failure to comply with the duty to give reasons; the decision letter was so brief it did not enable the claimant to know whether each of her applications had been considered or the basis upon which they had been refused.