Mr e Kamphues v Venator Materials UK Ltd — 2023

The claimant, Mr E Kamphues, had been employed by Venator Materials UK Ltd as a Lead Country Accountant from 2 July 2018 until 2 October 2022. The tribunal had previously listed a preliminary hearing and made orders for further information about some heads of claim. When the claimant did not comply, the tribunal issued further directions, including an unless order and a later strike-out warning, and gave the claimant opportunities to make written representations or request a hearing on why the case should not be struck out.

The claimant did not provide a sufficient response to the orders. The tribunal recorded repeated late or last-minute correspondence, including requests to adjourn hearings, references to illness and a medical emergency, and an email setting out complaints about the respondent's representative and the tribunal, but not the information required by the earlier orders. At the hearing on 15 September 2023, neither the claimant nor his representative attended.

Having reviewed the ET1, ET3 and the parties' correspondence, the tribunal found that the claimant's case was speculative and that he had given no information of any direct detriment or discrimination. It said the case appeared to be framed more as a complaint that he should have been paid at a higher level or given a particular role, and that the tribunal still did not know how the case was pleaded.

The tribunal concluded that the claimant had failed to comply with Employment Judge Arullendran's order and that the claim had not been actively pursued. It therefore struck out the unfair dismissal, unlawful deductions from wages, protected-disclosure detriment, and direct race discrimination complaints under Rule 37(1)(c) and (d).