Mr J Williams v 1st Enable Ltd — 2023

Mr J Williams brought a claim for unpaid wages arising from his final payment when his employment with 1st Enable Ltd ended. He valued the claim at £1,500, and said that this figure included an element for emotional distress. The tribunal noted that he had not calculated the actual sums he said were owed as wages.

In its response, the respondent acknowledged that Mr Williams had not been paid for two days while he was suspended and said that it had since made a payment for those days. It also acknowledged a deduction from the claimant’s final wage for excess holiday taken during employment and provided a detailed calculation of holiday hours accrued and holiday hours taken. The judge made no finding on the accuracy of that calculation.

Because of the response, the final hearing listed for 13 January 2023 had previously been converted into a preliminary hearing for case management to establish what, if anything, the claimant said he was owed and the basis for that belief. The hearing was then postponed because of lack of judicial resources, and a re-listing error meant the parties were given the wrong dial-in details for the telephone conference.

At the hearing on 24 March 2023 neither party was initially in attendance. The respondent’s representative eventually obtained the correct details and joined, while the tribunal clerk telephoned and emailed Mr Williams with the correct joining information without success. The judge adjourned at 10.30 and concluded that, notwithstanding the confusion, it was probable that Mr Williams had not intended to join the hearing. The claim was therefore dismissed under Rule 47, with information given to the claimant about reconsideration.