Barrister ordered to pay about £7,000 after joining tribunal hearing from a train in Germany

Barrister Michael Engelhardt-Sprack has been ordered to pay wasted costs of £6,767.44, reported as about £7,000, after joining an employment tribunal hearing by video link from a train in Germany. 1 2 Engelhardt-Sprack, an employment and housing law specialist at Garden Court Chambers in London, told the tribunal they live permanently in Germany with their family while practising in the UK. 1 They were representing Shannon Burns, a technology executive dismissed after falling asleep in a sauna while drunk. A tribunal found her male colleagues had also been drunk that night, and she won her case. 1 2

A tribunal judge had allowed Engelhardt-Sprack to attend the first day remotely. The hearing was delayed by 20 minutes before they connected, wearing headphones on the train. 2 1 Engelhardt-Sprack said they could conduct the case, but the judge ruled the setting was "not a suitably quiet environment". Instead of finding a quiet place, they boarded another train. 1 2 Costs hearing judge Rachel Wedderspoon said passengers' background noise could be heard and the connection was poor. She ruled that one day of the hearing was "aborted and wasted". 1 2

The case resumed the next day with Engelhardt-Sprack attending the Birmingham tribunal in person. Burns is now pursuing a £76million damages claim against the company, now owned by OpenAI, with a hearing to follow. 1 2 Both outlets compare the case with that of solicitor Priyank Tanwar, struck off after falsely telling a county court judge he was working remotely from London when he was in Germany, and ordered to pay £7,500 in costs. 1 2