Ms A Currie v Hilbre Care Ltd (in creditors’ voluntary liquidation) — 2021

The case was listed for a final hearing on 3 October 2023. The claimant and respondent both failed to attend, and neither was represented. The tribunal noted that a case management order sent on 16 September 2021 had informed the parties of the hearing date, venue, and the requirement to attend in person.

The respondent was in creditors’ voluntary liquidation, with liquidators appointed in September 2022 and the respondent’s representatives coming off record in March 2023. The tribunal noted that the claimant had not appeared to make contact with the tribunal between 2021 and the hearing date, and there was no telephone number on the case record or paper file. The clerk emailed the claimant on the morning of the hearing; she replied that she was sorry and had received a phone call saying the matter was not being taken any further because Della McManus had retired and sold all her businesses.

Applying Rule 47 of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2013 and the overriding objective in Rule 2, the tribunal said it had made all practicable enquiries into the claimant’s absence. It concluded that the claimant appeared to have given up, that enforcement against the company would in any event appear to have limited prospects, and that dismissing the claim would be proportionate. The judgment therefore dismissed the claim.