Mrs M Dooley v Mr S Preston — 2021

Mrs M Dooley worked for Mr S Preston as a bar tender at the Railway Inn in Ipswich from 10 October 2016 until her summary dismissal on 12 August 2019 for alleged gross misconduct. She presented an unfair dismissal claim on 14 November 2019. The respondent’s response said she had been fairly dismissed for using foul and abusive language towards and in the presence of customers.

The case was listed and relisted several times. The claimant asked for the original August 2020 hearing to be adjourned because she was not sufficiently prepared. At the subsequent case management hearing on 21 January 2021, neither the claimant nor her husband could participate, and the Employment Judge proceeded in their absence, identified the issues, and listed the final hearing for 14 July 2021. The tribunal also wrote on 8 July 2021 to confirm that the hearing would proceed in person.

Neither party attended the final hearing on 14 July 2021. The tribunal noted there was no correspondence on the file showing that the case had been settled, but concluded that the parties had notice of the hearing and that the claimant was no longer actively pursuing the claim. The judgment therefore dismissed the claim without deciding the underlying unfair dismissal issues on their merits.