A former Jobcentre worker from Menston who said his contract was not extended because he tried to protect taxpayers’ money has withdrawn his claim for unfair dismissal.

Richard Constable yesterday told an employment tribunal in Leeds he believed he didn’t have much chance of winning and was wary of being landed with thousands of pounds in costs by the Department for Work and Pensions.

He was making the claim against the DWP after leaving his job at the Eastgate Jobcentre in Leeds in March 2009.

Mr Constable claimed he was being bullied at work because he was doing his job properly and refusing to hand out benefits to some jobseekers he said were not complying with rules. He said he was protecting the public purse.

He claimed he was asked to hand over benefits anyway and it was the reason his fixed-term contract was not made permanent when it ran out in March 2009.

The DWP refuted all Mr Constable’s claims and said he was not applying the correct procedures when assessing people’s entitlement to benefits.

They said there were various reasons why Mr Constable was not offered a permanent position, including poor performance, poor timekeeping, poor attendance and a raft of complaints from customers, and gave evidence to back their claims.

Tribunal chairman David Burton yesterday told Mr Constable his withdrawal was the “sensible thing to do”.

As a result of Mr Constable’s withdrawal, Stefan Brochwicz Lewinski for the DWP, told the tribunal he would not be pushing for costs.

The claimant gave evidence under cross-examination for more than three hours on Tuesday and at the end of the day was asked by Mr Burton to consider his position.

And after a meeting with Mr Lewinski yesterday morning, Mr Constable, who represented himself, decided he could not risk losing and being landed with a hefty bill.

“The fact is I am really struggling as I don’t have legal representation,” he said. “Also, it was indicated that if I continued with the claim and did lose, there would be the possibility of costs.

“Because I don’t have much of a chance, it’s sensible and respectful to withdraw the claim.”

Mr Lewinski said Mr Constable’s withdrawal was the correct decision.

“I respect him,” he said. “I think it is a right and sensible view point to take now during the claim.”

After the hearing, Mr Constable said his claim had always been a “David versus Goliath” battle.

“It’s unfortunate I couldn’t carry on, but I think I made my point,” he said.