Not present or represented For the v Mr S Hoyle, Consultant (Croner) — 2020

Mr P Woollard originally brought claims of unfair dismissal and age discrimination against Design A Space Ltd. The age discrimination claim had already been struck out after he failed to comply with a deposit order made by Employment Judge R Lewis following a preliminary hearing on 14 March 2019. The unfair dismissal hearing first listed for January 2020 was postponed at the claimant’s request because he was in pain before an urgent knee operation, and the case was later relisted for a telephone preliminary hearing on 22 October 2020.

Ahead of the 22 October 2020 hearing, the claimant emailed the tribunal saying he would be unable to attend because he had to travel to Norwich to care for his mother, and then clarified that she was in the final stages of liver cancer. He also referred to a settlement offer and to compensation he said related to time off to seek other work. On the morning of the hearing the tribunal received an email from the claimant saying he could not take part, but he did not join the hearing when called.

Employment Judge Hyams applied rule 47 of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2013, considered the information available about the absence, and decided it was right to proceed in the claimant’s absence. The judge noted that the hearing had been listed only to relist the substantive hearing, that any discussion was likely to be brief, and that the claimant could have participated by telephone even if he was travelling or with his mother. The judge also noted that the claimant had taken time to send several emails shortly before the hearing. The remaining unfair dismissal claim was dismissed.