Mrs A Doran v Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council — 2024

Mrs A Doran did not attend and was not represented at the final hearing on 22 December 2023. The tribunal recorded that the claim had been presented in 2013, that notice of the final hearing had been sent on 17 October 2023 to an email address previously used by the claimant, and that the respondent's solicitor had also emailed the claimant on 30 October 2023 referring to the hearing date and asking for comments on a draft list of issues.

After the claimant did not attend, the tribunal clerk telephoned her. The claimant said she had been unaware of the hearing, could not attend that day, and did want to pursue her claim. Employment Judge Horne concluded that the claimant had had a fair opportunity to come to the hearing because two emails had been sent to her with the hearing date.

The tribunal dismissed the claim under rule 47 of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2013. It found that avoiding delay was particularly important because the claim was 10 years old, and that dismissal was proportionate because the claim could not fairly be determined on its merits without the claimant's attendance, including evidence about the difference between her terms and her comparator's terms. No remedy was awarded.