Ms B Jankovics v Costa Limited — 2024

The tribunal listed a hearing for 5 June 2024 to consider liability and remedy under Rule 21 after the Respondent failed to present a response. Employment Judge Quill was satisfied that the Notice of Hearing had been correctly sent to the email address supplied by Ms Jankovics on her ET1 and that it included case management orders and the right to make written representations.

The Claimant supplied no documents to the Tribunal and did not attend the video hearing. The judge telephoned her at 10am, left a voicemail instructing her to join immediately, and the tribunal clerk checked whether she had attended the hearing centre, telephoned, or emailed the Tribunal. The Claimant had done none of those things, and the judge waited in the video room until 10.25am before concluding that no further enquiries could be made.

The judge considered the alternatives under Rule 47. Proceeding in the Claimant's absence was considered pointless because the Rule 21 hearing had been ordered due to insufficient information to decide the case on the papers. The judge also considered postponement, but noted there had been no contact from the Claimant since the claim form was presented in July 2023, no compliance with the orders for the hearing, and no response to the telephone call. The entire claim was dismissed under Rule 47. No remedy was awarded or assessed.