Mr. J. Howard v Nurtured Future Livings Ltd HELD BY: CVP — 2021

The claimant, Mr J. Howard, did not attend the hearing listed for 15 October 2021. The tribunal recorded that notice of hearing had been sent using the information provided by the claimant, but he did not tell the tribunal that he could not attend, ask for a postponement, or explain any technical or practical difficulties in participating.

The tribunal clerk attempted to contact the claimant at the start of the 2pm hearing. By 2.20pm the claimant had not made contact, joined the hearing, or appeared to try to participate. In those circumstances, the tribunal found that he had not presented his case or adduced evidence in support of the claim.

Employment Judge T. Vincent Ryan noted that the claimant may have accepted the respondent’s response and decided not to pursue the claim, but the tribunal did not hear the respondent’s evidence or determine the merits. Instead, the tribunal struck out the claim under Rule 37(1)(d) of the Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2013 because it had not been actively pursued.