Mr R Hobson v Wessex Eagle Ltd — 2021

The case was heard by telephone on 15 June 2021. The claimant did not attend. Employment Judge Dawson recorded that the claimant had been notified of the hearing and had also been warned in earlier correspondence that the tribunal might consider strike out if case management orders were not complied with. The respondent’s name was amended to Wessex Eagle Limited.

On the unfair dismissal claim, the tribunal noted that the claim form said the claimant had been employed between 21 October 2019 and 31 October 2020 as a plant fitter, but it did not identify any basis on which an exception to the two-year qualifying period might apply. The judge concluded that the tribunal had no jurisdiction because the claimant had not been employed for two years or more before dismissal, and the unfair dismissal claim was struck out.

On the disability discrimination claim, the tribunal referred to directions requiring the claimant to identify the disability relied on, provide medical evidence, and serve an impact statement dealing with the effect of the alleged disability on day-to-day activities. The claimant sent documents on 15 February 2021 but did not include an impact statement, did not serve the material on the respondent, and did not comply with later orders and warnings from the tribunal. The judge accepted the respondent’s evidence that no impact statement had been received.

Because the claimant did not attend, had failed to comply with repeated tribunal orders without good reason, and had not progressed the issues for hearing, the judge considered that a fair hearing could not be advanced and that further tribunal resources should not be spent on the claim. Applying the overriding objective, the disability discrimination claim was struck out. No remedy was awarded.