Mr. Gary Train v Respondent — 2021

The claimant had lodged a claim for unfair dismissal. The final hearing was listed for 13 to 15 September 2021 in Glasgow by CVP. The respondent appeared through solicitor Matthew Leake. The claimant was not present, was not represented, and had not replied to the tribunal's attempts to contact him by telephone and email, including earlier CVP test arrangements and a warning that the hearing would proceed in his absence if he did not log in.

The tribunal adjourned and reconvened to allow the claimant further time to attend or communicate, but no response was received. At 11:16am the tribunal dismissed the claim under Rule 47 of Schedule 1 to the Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2013, proceeding on the basis that the unexplained non-attendance indicated an intention not to insist on the claim. The tribunal noted that, if that assumption was wrong, the claimant could consider an application for reconsideration.

The respondent indicated that it intended to apply for strike out, but the tribunal did not determine that application because dismissal under Rule 47 was sufficient to dispose of the case. The tribunal also referred to the overriding objective in Rule 2.