Claimant v Respondent — 2023

The tribunal listed the case for a 5-day liability hearing on the claimant's complaint of unfair dismissal. The claimant did not attend, no prior notice or explanation was received, and the tribunal made attempts to contact him by telephone and email before starting the hearing. The hearing start was delayed until 12.30pm to allow further time for a response, but none was received. None of the claimant's four witnesses attended either.

The tribunal referred to rule 47 of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2013 and considered the available information before deciding how to proceed in the claimant's absence. It noted that the claimant had also failed, without notice or explanation, to attend a case management hearing on 12 December 2022 and had not complied with the directions made on that occasion. The respondent's counsel also told the tribunal that the claimant had not responded to recent correspondence.

The tribunal was satisfied that the claimant had received proper notice of the hearing and the case management orders. On the information available, it concluded that the claimant was not actively pursuing his claim and that it was unable to determine the claim in his absence. The unfair dismissal claim was therefore dismissed under rule 47.

The respondent applied for the claimant to pay its costs. The tribunal noted a costs schedule showing costs of £17,589.60 from 1 November 2022 to date, but adjourned the application so that the claimant could make written representations by 4pm on 27 January 2023 and provide documentary evidence of his ability to pay if he wished to oppose a costs order.