Mr W Labuda v Johnson Matthey plc — 2022

Mr W Labuda presented a claim for unfair dismissal on 1 July 2021. The respondent disputed that the claim was in time and applied on 1 February 2022 to strike it out. The matter was listed for an open preliminary hearing on 17 February 2022 to deal with the strike-out application and the timeliness issue.

The claimant did not attend and was not represented. The tribunal adjourned briefly while administration tried to contact him, but it was unable to obtain any explanation for his absence by telephone or email. In those circumstances, the tribunal proceeded in his absence under Rule 47 of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2013.

The tribunal found that the claimant had not complied with case management orders dated 15 November 2021, including the requirement to provide a schedule of loss and supporting evidence by 29 November 2021 and to exchange documents by 13 December 2021. It noted that the claimant's solicitors said on 6 December 2021 that they were no longer acting, and that the respondent then sent reminders and ultimately warned that strike out would be sought if there was no compliance.

Applying Rule 37 of the 2013 Rules, including grounds (b), (c) and (d), the tribunal held that the claimant had failed to comply with tribunal orders, had not conducted the proceedings in a reasonable manner, and had not actively pursued the claim. The claim was therefore struck out, and the tribunal said no determination was required on whether the unfair dismissal claim had been presented in time.