Deposit order


In a very weak case, a judge can order a party to pay a deposit, not exceeding £1,000, to be paid within 21 days or the claim will be struck out (dismissed). A tribunal considering a deposit order must take into account a claimant’s ability to pay. Only a nominal amount, say £1, should be ordered where the evidence shows that a claimant cannot pay (Hemdan v Ismail [2016] UKEAT 0021/16/1011).


A deposit order is a good sign that a claim is likely to fail, and urgent legal advice should be taken before carrying on. Even if the sum ordered is nominal – because the claimant has no resources – its purpose is the same, namely to emphasize to a litigant that their case is weak and that they are at risk of being ordered to pay the other side’s legal costs if they continue with it. A claimant who pursues a claim unreasonably after being warned by the tribunal that their case will probably fail is at high risk of a costs order – see page 504.