Mr G Palmer v Stobart Aviation Services Limited — 2020

Mr G Palmer presented his claim on 24 February 2020 and said he had been offered work by Stobart Aviation Services Limited as a Cargo Operative at Southend Airport, had a day’s training on 6 December 2019, and was then not provided with work. He claimed loss of earnings. The respondent said he was engaged as a temporary worker by Deekay Recruitment Limited and that it did not employ him.

A preliminary hearing before Employment Judge Ross on 13 July 2020 led to case management orders requiring the claimant to provide documents and a witness statement by 27 July 2020, and to attend a telephone preliminary hearing on 4 September 2020 to determine whether he had been employed by the respondent. The claimant did not provide the ordered documents or witness statement. The tribunal noted that the orders and hearing notice were emailed to the address on the ET1, that the address appeared correct, and that the respondent also sent documents to that address without reply.

The claimant did not attend the hearing on 4 September 2020. The clerk telephoned the mobile number on the ET1 twice and left a voicemail asking him to call in, but he did not do so. The Employment Judge considered the available information and the practicable enquiries required by Rule 47 of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2013.

The tribunal decided that this was the second occasion on which the claimant had not attended a hearing, that he had not engaged with the Tribunal or the respondent since presenting his claim, and that he had not actively pursued the claim. The judgment therefore dismissed the claim under Rule 47 because the claimant had not attended, there appeared to be no good reason for his absence, and he had not actively pursued the proceedings. The tribunal did not reach the merits of the employment-status issue or any remedy question.