Mr Richard Ward v No appearance and No representation Glasgow City Council — 2023

The case was heard in Glasgow on 7 December 2023 before Employment Judge Russell Bradley. The claimant, Mr Richard Ward, did not attend and was not represented. The respondent, Glasgow City Council, was represented by Ms A McFarlane. The tribunal had previously held a preliminary hearing on 19 September 2023 and a further in-person case management hearing on 31 October 2023 to accommodate the claimant and to allow him to clarify aspects of his case.

The note following the 31 October hearing stated that it was important for the claimant to attend the next hearing and warned that failure to do so might lead to strike-out. For the December hearing, the clerk telephoned the number on the ET1 form and received an automated message suggesting the number may no longer have been in use. Ms McFarlane told the tribunal that the claimant had previously used an alternative email address, that she had emailed him on 31 October 2023 to advise him of the hearing and to ask him to notify the tribunal if the alternative address was still in use, and that the claimant had emailed the respondent on 13 November 2023 using the ET1 email address.

The tribunal found that email correspondence to the ET1 address had been sent to an address used by the claimant and was satisfied that he had notice of the hearing. Having regard to Rule 47 of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2013 and the claimant's unexplained absence, the tribunal dismissed the claims. No remedy was awarded.