Mrs Z Amri-Khellaf v Evergreen Homecare Services Ltd (formerly SureCare Barnet Ltd) — 2021

Employment Judge O’Rourke considered the respondent’s application to dismiss the claim at the outset of the hearing because the claimant had not complied with a case management order and a later Unless Order. The original order required the claimant to set out the remedy sought, provide evidence and documentation supporting the claim and its calculation, and give information about mitigation and any later employment. The judge recorded that the respondent had repeatedly written to identify the missing information before the Unless Order was made on 15 June 2021.

The claimant sent an email on 21 June 2021, the day before the deadline, but the tribunal found that this did not amount to compliance in full. The email did not provide the requested documentary evidence on earnings, hours, pay, mitigation, or the start date of alternative employment, and the tribunal considered the claimed remedy figures to be vague and unsupported, including the reference to a payment of £650.00 for loss of earnings due to reduced working hours. The judge held that the non-compliance was material.

Applying Rule 38(1) of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2013 and the guidance in Scottish Ambulance Service v Laing EATS 0038/12, the tribunal held that once material non-compliance with a clear Unless Order was established, there was no discretion to allow the claim to continue. The claimant’s claims of unfair dismissal, unlawful deduction from wages in respect of other payments, and breach of contract in respect of pay in lieu of notice were therefore dismissed without a merits hearing.