Mr B Voeght v James Mclaughlin — 2023

The case was heard by Employment Judge Phil Allen sitting alone at Manchester by CVP on 7 February 2023. Neither party attended or was represented, and no response had been submitted for the respondent. The claimant had also provided no documents or witness statement before the hearing.

The tribunal struck out the unfair dismissal claim because section 108 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 requires at least two years' service to bring such a complaint, and the claimant had been employed for less than two years. The judge recorded that the claimant had been given an opportunity to explain why the claim should not be struck out, but did not give an acceptable reason.

The tribunal dismissed the unauthorised deduction from wages claim under rule 47 because the claimant failed to attend the final hearing or be represented. The reasons note that the claimant had joined the CVP room but was no longer connected when the hearing was due to start, that three emails were sent without response within the 45 minutes allowed, and that the claimant later emailed only after the hearing had ended. The judge also noted potential additional issues that would have arisen if the claim had been heard, including whether the tribunal had jurisdiction because of the timing of the ACAS Early Conciliation certificate and the claimant's stated work location in South Africa, but those points were not determined.