Claimant v Empowerhouse Ltd — 2020

This was a preliminary hearing before Employment Judge Heal on 20 January 2020. The claim form had alleged unfair dismissal, race discrimination and unauthorised deductions from wages. The judge recorded that the claimant told the tribunal he had intended to bring wrongful dismissal rather than unfair dismissal, but the claim before the tribunal was treated as one for unfair dismissal.

The respondent had not filed a response by the hearing date, but appeared through counsel. The tribunal noted the service history and the respondent's request for time to deal with the proceedings. The only substantive judgment recorded at this hearing was that the unfair dismissal complaint was dismissed because the claimant did not have two years' service.

The tribunal then postponed the matter to 13 March 2020 so that the respondent could make an application for an extension of time to present its response. The case management summary set out issues for a later hearing, including harassment and direct race discrimination, unpaid wages during suspension, and breach of contract concerning dismissal without notice, but the tribunal made no merits findings on those issues in this decision. No remedy was awarded at this stage.