No attendance For the v Hallett Retain Services Ltd (In Voluntary Liquidation) — 2023

After ACAS conciliation, Mr J Reuben and Mrs E Oboyle presented claims arising from their work as Head of Trade and Data and Head of Finance. Employment Judge Alliott had previously categorised the complaints as unfair dismissal, redundancy payment/protective award, age discrimination, sex discrimination/harassment, and a pleaded breach of the equal pay term under s.65 Equality Act 2010. In his case management notes he said the equal-pay pleading was not really an equal pay term claim because there was no actual comparator, and the complaints appeared instead to be age-based pay disparity for the first claimant and promotion/pay disadvantage for the second claimant.

The final hearing was listed at Watford on 5 December 2023. Neither claimant attended, despite an email from the tribunal the day before requesting any documentation they intended to rely on, and there had been no further correspondence from them. The respondent, which was in voluntary liquidation, indicated that it did not intend to attend or defend the claim. With no evidence before him that would allow the case to proceed in the claimants' absence, Employment Judge George applied rule 47 of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2013 and dismissed all claims.