Mr U Khaled v M5 Experience Ltd — 2023

Mr U Khaled brought a claim for unpaid wages totalling £1,200. The respondent’s response said he was not an employee and was not entitled to the sums claimed. The final hearing was listed by video at Manchester Employment Tribunal on 15 March 2023, but neither party attended.

The tribunal recorded that the clerk tried to contact the parties by telephone and then by email. The claimant replied that he was working and too busy to join the call because of work commitments, and asked whether any other arrangement could be made. No response was received from the respondent. The claimant had not applied in advance to postpone the hearing or otherwise explained attendance difficulties at an earlier stage.

Employment Judge Dunlop also noted that neither side appeared to have complied with the case management orders sent with the notice of hearing. There was no bundle of evidence and no witness statements. The tribunal said the claimant’s emails seeking advice suggested that he had not read the case management orders despite them being drawn to his attention.

On that basis, the tribunal decided it would not be appropriate to relist the case and dismissed the claim under Rule 47 of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2019 because the claimant had not attended the hearing. No monetary award was made.