Miss K Bharati v Mr T Gupta: 6011019/2025
JUDGMENT
[1]The claims are dismissed under rule 47 of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2024, the claimant having not attended the preliminary hearing for case management.REASONS
[1]Rule 47 of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2013 provides: “If a party fails to attend or to be represented at the hearing, the Tribunal may dismiss the claim… Before doing so, it shall consider any information which is available to it, after any enquiries that may be practicable, about the reasons for the party’s absence.”[2]The power in rule 47 must be exercised in accordance with the overriding objective in rule 2. The overriding objective is to deal with cases fairly and justly. This includes avoiding delay and acting proportionately,[3]By letter dated 17 September 2025, the parties were informed that there would be a preliminary hearing by video for case management on 10 February 2026. That letter was sent to the claimant by email, that being the claimant’s preferred method of communication. Included in the letter were instructions for how to connect to the hearing.[4]The claimant did not dial into the hearing today. At around 10.00 am the tribunal clerk attempted to telephone the claimant on her mobile number. She did not answer the call. An email was sent to the claimant at 10:10 a.m. to remind her of the hearing and ask why she was not in attendance. No reply was received. The claimant had still not dialled in to the hearing by 10.27am when the hearing finished.[5]There is no record on file of the claimant having tried to communicate with the tribunal to explain any difficulty she might have had in attending in the hearing or in connecting to the video hearing.[6]I am satisfied that the tribunal has made all practicable enquiries about the reasons for the claimant’s absence.[7]Having reviewed the file, I noted that the claimant had not completed an agenda for today’s hearing as she was required to do. Nor had she complied with the Tribunal’s order that she supply a schedule of loss to the respondent by 22 October 2025. I understand that the claimant has not made any contact with the respondent since she presented her claim.[8]The claims being advanced are unclear and/or unquantified and without further information and supporting evidence from the claimant they cannot proceed. The claims are defended by the respondent who was in attendance today.[9]In the circumstances, I considered it appropriate to dismiss the claims under rule 47. In reaching that decision, I had regard to the overriding objective, that cases should be dealt with fairly and justly noting that this includes dealing with cases proportionately, avoiding delay and saving expense. Given that the claimant had failed to supply information required of her in advance of the hearing and had failed to attend the hearing, without any explanation, it seemed likely that she no longer wished to pursue the claims. I therefore considered that it would not be consistent with the overriding objective to adjourn the case and to fix another hearing.[10]The claim is therefore dismissed. Approved by: