Mr S Secular-Cornell v MHS Homes Ltd — 2025

This was listed as the final hearing for the claimant’s unfair dismissal complaint. The claimant did not attend the Cloud Video Platform hearing at 10:00 am, and the tribunal record shows that the clerk telephoned him three times and re-sent the joining details, but he did not answer or respond by email. He had previously sought a stay of proceedings for health reasons relating to cataract surgery and to protect his eyesight from electronic correspondence.

The tribunal had already refused an earlier application to stay the hearing on 16 May 2025 because no medical evidence had been provided showing that he was unable to participate or when he would be able to do so. After further email correspondence on 27 June 2025, including material from Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, the claimant renewed his request for postponement. The tribunal again refused the request, noting that the document referred to a pre-operative assessment on 21 July 2025, that no date had been set for the actual operation, and that the automated telephone assessment scheduled for 9:00 am on 3 July 2025 could have been completed before or around the hearing start.

The tribunal also noted that the claimant had not provided medical evidence supporting the assertion that he required a postal hearing or could not travel or use electronic correspondence. It concluded that, having made practicable enquiries, the available information indicated that the claimant had unilaterally absented himself and had not presented acceptable reasons or supporting evidence for his absence. The tribunal decided it was not practicable or proportionate to continue in his absence and dismissed the claim under rule 47 of the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024. No findings were made on the underlying merits of the unfair dismissal complaint and no remedy was awarded.