Mr P Hannington v Keystone Construction Services Ltd (in liquidation) and 1 other — 2023

The Tribunal dismissed the Claimant's claim against the Second Respondent for payment of monies from the National Insurance Fund, and any claims against the First Respondent for redundancy, holiday, notice or other elements of pay, under Rule 47 of the Employment Tribunal Rules because the Claimant did not attend the hearing.

The Tribunal found that the Claimant had been informed of the in-person hearing and that the Second Respondent's representative had also spoken to him before the hearing to ensure he was aware of it. The Claimant emailed the representative shortly before 11am on the hearing day saying he could not attend because of the bereavement of a close friend, but did not send or copy that email to the Tribunal.

The Tribunal noted that the Claimant had not provided details about when the friend died or why this prevented attendance, and had not asked for the hearing to be postponed or relisted. Taking account of the burden on the Claimant to prove his claim, including employment status, the Tribunal dismissed the claims for non-attendance.