did not attend For the v Mr Kenyon (managing director) — 2021

The claimant worked for the respondent as a packing operative from 3 March 2020 until his employment ended on 9 April 2020. His claim, presented on 7 June 2020 after early conciliation, concerned health and safety matters. He said he had taken time off because he was concerned that he might be a carrier of Covid-19 and because a member of his household had symptoms similar to Covid-19, which he believed meant he should self-isolate under government guidance. He said the respondent dismissed him for taking himself out of the workplace to protect others. The respondent said the dismissal was for reasons connected with poor performance during probation.

The case was listed for a two-day hearing on 10 and 11 December 2020, but the claimant's solicitor came off the record on 5 December 2020. The claimant first applied for a postponement on 6 December 2020 and made a further application by email on 9 December 2020. The tribunal refused the second postponement application after considering the Presidential Guidance on seeking a postponement of a hearing, the overriding objective, and the fact that the claimant had not attended to make submissions in support of the application despite attempts to contact him.

Because the claimant did not attend to present his case, the tribunal proceeded under Rule 47 and dismissed the claims. It found that he had made no real effort to attend, that further delay and expense should be avoided, and that the respondent had no case to answer in the claimant's absence. The tribunal made no substantive findings on the underlying merits of the health and safety allegations, and the dismissal was based on non-attendance rather than on a determination of the claims' substance.