Paul Squire v Fishmongers Tavern — 2025

Paul Squire did not attend the hearing on 27 November 2024. He said that he had been unfairly dismissed, had not received tips, was owed holiday pay, had not received payslips, and had other claims about matters where the Employment Tribunal did not have jurisdiction. The tribunal had sent him a strike-out warning on 10 September 2024.

Employment Judge Housego found that Mr Squire had been employed for less than two years and had mentioned nothing that could amount to an exception to the general rule on unfair dismissal. The unfair dismissal claim was therefore struck out for want of jurisdiction.

The remaining claims were struck out under Rule 47 because the claimant failed to attend and had not engaged with the tribunal or the respondent after the warning. There was no information on the tribunal file about the reason for his absence; the clerk found none, Mr Weston said his calls to the claimant went unanswered, and Acas had also been unable to contact him.

The tribunal noted that Mr Squire had obtained other employment after about a week or so, and that Mr Weston said he had resolved the payslips and HMRC issue. The tribunal considered that, together with the earlier strike-out warning, these matters made it likely that the claimant had lost interest in pursuing the claims. No remedy was awarded.