In person For v Non-attendance — 2024

The case came before Employment Judge Douse, sitting alone at Cambridge Tribunal via CVP on 1 July 2024, as a remedy hearing although no judgment had yet been issued. The Respondent did not attend and had filed no response. The Judge was satisfied that a determination could properly be made on the claim for a redundancy payment, and ordered the Respondent to pay £11,328.48 gross, calculated as 8 years at 1.5 weeks and 12 years at 1 week at £474.27 per week.

The Judge was not satisfied that a determination could properly be made on the unfair dismissal claim on the available material. The Claimant's case was that the Respondent had said everyone was being made redundant but a number of people continued to work there after his termination, so the dismissal was not for redundancy. The Judge identified difficulties with the screenshots, message extracts and photographs provided, including the absence of the Respondent's Facebook account details, missing dates, references to first names only, and no means of identifying individuals or confirming they were not new employees.

The Judge offered the Claimant the opportunity to provide further evidence including a witness statement, or to take advice on the merits before deciding whether to continue. After a break in which the Claimant was joined by Ms Louise Hyde, he decided to conclude matters that day and withdrew his unfair dismissal claim, which was accordingly dismissed upon withdrawal.