Did not attend For the v Mr Lee Cooper (Director) — 2025

The claim before the tribunal was a complaint of unauthorised deduction from wages against Ernest Cooper Ltd. The final hearing was listed for 22 May 2025 in Leeds by CVP, but the Claimant did not attend and was not represented. The tribunal therefore dealt first with whether the hearing should proceed and ultimately dismissed the claim under Rule 47 of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2024.

The tribunal found that the Claimant had received the Notice of Hearing dated 4 March 2025 via the Portal. It relied on the fact that he had contacted the tribunal on 22 April 2025 to ask for the tribunal email address so that he could send evidence, and the tribunal had replied with that address. No further communication was received from the Claimant after that date. He did not notify the tribunal that he would not attend, and no postponement application was received.

The tribunal and clerks attempted to contact him during the hearing by telephone and email. The telephone number in the ET1 was no longer active, no voicemail could be left, and emails sent to the Claimant did not produce any response or bounce-back. The Respondent confirmed that it had received no communication about the Claimant's absence and that the last communication it had received from him, apart from the ET1, was on 6 November 2024.

In deciding to dismiss under Rule 47, the tribunal also took into account that the Claimant had not complied with the directions in the Notice of Hearing. He had not sent a schedule of loss, supporting documents or evidence to the Respondent or the tribunal, and he had not provided a witness statement. The tribunal considered that it appeared the Claimant no longer wished to pursue the claim and dismissed it as consistent with the overriding objective.