Mr F Johnson v Impact Security Solutions — 2021

This was listed for a full merits hearing on 3 September 2021 after an earlier listing on 8 July 2021 had been postponed when the claimant did not attend and said he had recently been discharged from hospital. At that earlier stage, Employment Judge Nicklin also recorded case management directions requiring the claimant to provide a schedule of losses, exchange documents and witness statements, prepare a bundle, and apply in advance if he could not attend a future hearing, supported by evidence.

For the 3 September 2021 hearing, the tribunal clerk telephoned the claimant after he failed to attend. The claimant said he was in hospital and unable to take part, that he knew of the hearing because the respondent had called him the previous week, and that he had not sent anything to the tribunal because he did not have an email address. Miss Lea, for the respondent, told the tribunal that the claimant had not complied with the earlier directions and had provided no documents, and that she had telephoned him the previous week to tell him there were no documents from him and that the hearing was imminent.

Employment Judge Heath found that the claimant had not applied in advance for a postponement and had provided no evidence to support his explanation. Taking into account the claimant's earlier non-attendance and complete failure to comply with the preparation directions, the judge concluded that the case had the appearance of the claimant disengaging from the process. The claim was therefore dismissed under Rule 47, the judge stating that dismissal was the fair and just course in all the circumstances.