1. Mr Ashraf Ali 2. Mr Md Anisuzzaman v Sweet Hall Ltd — 2021

The claimants, Mr Ashraf Ali and Mr Md Anisuzzaman, brought claims for breach of contract including wrongful dismissal, unauthorised deductions from wages, and payment in lieu of accrued but untaken holiday pay. The respondent did not respond to the claims. The tribunal consolidated the claims and listed them for a telephone hearing on 17 December 2021 before Employment Judge O’Brien sitting alone.

No-one attended the hearing. The clerk attempted to contact the parties, but neither the respondent nor the claimants’ representative joined the call. The judge was satisfied that the claimants’ representative had been served with notice of the hearing and noted that no explanation was given for the absence of either side. In those circumstances, the tribunal decided it was in the interests of justice to proceed in the absence of both parties.

The tribunal recorded that in each head of claim the claimants bore the burden of proving the loss claimed. Because no evidence was provided and the claimants did not attend to confirm the matters alleged in their claim forms, the tribunal found that the complaints had not been made out. All claims were therefore dismissed.