Mr Lewis Green v Smarter Home Improvements Ltd — 2022

Mr Lewis Green presented claims for breach of contract, unlawful deduction from wages, holiday pay and unfair dismissal on 6 October 2021. The tribunal recorded no subsequent communication from him after the claim was lodged. On 15 October 2021 the tribunal wrote to him warning that he appeared to have been employed for less than two years, so the tribunal could not consider his unfair dismissal complaint, and invited written reasons by 29 October 2021 as to why that claim should not be struck out. No response was received.

The respondent did not reply to the notice of claim or any later communication. On 6 December 2021 the tribunal sent both parties notice of the hearing and case management directions, but there was no evidence that the directions had been complied with and no complaint from the claimant about the respondent's non-compliance. On 7 February 2022, after the respondent had failed to engage, the tribunal required the claimant to file an electronic bundle and witness statements by 2 March 2022. He did not do so.

Neither party attended the hearing on 9 March 2022. Because the claimant had not given a telephone number on the claim form, the tribunal could not ask about his non-attendance. The tribunal found, from his disengagement with the proceedings, that he was not actively pursuing the claim. It therefore struck out the claim under rule 37(d) of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure.

In deciding not to give a further warning, the tribunal took account of the claimant's complete disengagement, the brief period of employment he alleged, the consequent low value of the claim, and his failure to attend the hearing, noting that the claim could in any event have been dismissed under rule 47.