A man who lost an unfair dismissal tribunal after he was sacked from his job due to his part in a video of an offensive song about Michaela McAreavey, has been left with costs to pay amounting to £10,000.
Andrew McDade, from Portadown, Co Armagh, lost his job as a lorry driver for the Norman Emerson Group after a clip from the video sparked outrage in May 2022.
He had been attending an event at Dundonald Orange Hall when he livestreamed video footage, which shows a group of individuals singing a song appearing to mock the daughter of former Tyrone GAA manager Mickey Harte, who was murdered during her honeymoon in Mauritius in 2011.
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Mr McDade said he had not been aware of the song.
McDade was then dismissed by his employer following a disciplinary process.
He did not appeal against the dismissal at the time but did go on to take an unfair dismissal case.
In June 2023 his claim was dismissed by a panel of judges led by tribunal president Noel Kelly.
In a written ruling, the panel described a claim which was “always misconceived and without merit”.
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Norman Emerson Group Limited applied for a costs order, in respect of legal fees and expenses, and a hearing was held on September 6 2024.
Mr McDade did not attend the costs hearing and was unrepresented.
Loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson had originally represented the claimant, but came off record on 1 July 2024.
The unanimous decision of the tribunal is that the maximum levy of costs of £10,000 should be ordered to be paid by Mr McDade to his former employer.
The tribunal decision said added that the actual costs incurred by the company “significantly exceeded” the sum.
Outlining their decision the tribunal panel said: “The circumstances of this case were serious for the respondent. It had suffered significant reputational damage and the publicity attached to any contested tribunal hearing had the potential for significantly increasing and prolonging such damage.
“In those circumstances, the tribunal concludes that it had been entirely reasonable for the respondent to instruct Solicitors and in the circumstances of this case, King’s Counsel to represent its interests in this matter.
”The tribunal has considered the limited information available to it in relation to the claimant’s ability to pay any costs award.
“The tribunal concludes that the claimant is in full-time employment with significant earnings. While the claimant would have standard outgoings to include mortgage costs etc, the claimant would still have disposable income.
“The tribunal therefore concludes, that it would be appropriate to award costs of £10,000 to be paid by the claimant to the respondent company.”