An ex-trainee lecturer must pay £19,000 towards her union’s costs after a judge ruled she pursued discrimination claims with “no reasonable prospect” of success.
Chido Muswere lost claims of direct race discrimination, harassment and victimisation against the University and College Union (UCU) last year following her dismissal from a teaching role at Burnley College in 2022.
Employment tribunals rarely award costs. UCU’s legal bill exceeded £56,000, but the judge capped the award at £20,000. Muswere was instructed to pay £19,000 in a costs order published last week.
UCU applied for costs against Muswere on two grounds; that Muswere’s conduct was “unreasonable” during proceedings and that her claim had “no reasonable prospect of success”.
The tribunal heard Muswere was warned between 2024 and 2025 that her allegations against the UCU were unsupported by evidence.
“She simply would not countenance the possibility that she had not been discriminated against, irrespective of the evidence (or lack of it),” the judge said.
The judge acknowledged the cost order would represent a “substantial debt burden”, but concluded Muswere had the earning capacity to pay it over time.
Muswere told FE Week she believed the tribunal had “mischaracterised” her actions and confirmed she intended to seek a reconsideration of the costs order. She is also appealing the earlier ruling that dismissed her discrimination claims.
“At the minute, I’m not planning on paying anything because I’m not really sure what I’m paying for,” she said.
The 29-year-old added her litigation over the past several years had impacted her financially, but she was prepared to pursue further appeals.
Muswere, a black British woman, was dismissed seven months into a 12-month probationary period while training to teach business studies at Burnley College in 2021.
She alleged her dismissal was racially motivated and cited concerns including teaching observations, disciplinary processes and the handling of CCTV footage.
All claims against the college were dismissed. The tribunal accepted the college’s evidence that her dismissal related to performance concerns and misconduct.
After seeking advice from the UCU following her dismissal in March 2022, Muswere brought separate claims against the union, alleging its representatives had failed to properly challenge the college’s actions and had “diminished” discriminatory treatment.
Those claims were also dismissed. The tribunal found UCU officials had acted in good faith.
The UCU declined to comment on active legal proceedings.
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