Claimant v Arcus FM Limited
Outcome
Individual claims
The claimant confirmed at the preliminary hearing on 14 February 2022 and again at this hearing that he was not pursuing his whistleblowing claim. The claim was dismissed on withdrawal.
The tribunal struck out the race discrimination claim because the claim form disclosed no arguable basis for such a claim. The claimant ticked the box for race discrimination but there was no mention of race in the body of the claim form.
The constructive dismissal claim was dismissed under Rule 47 due to the claimant's non-attendance at the hearing. The claimant failed to attend days 2 and 3 of the hearing, having informed the tribunal he would not attend due to personal circumstances. The tribunal considered it inappropriate to continue in his absence or adjourn.
Facts
The claimant brought claims of constructive dismissal, race discrimination, and whistleblowing detriment against his former employer Arcus FM Limited. The claim was filed in August 2021 after ACAS early conciliation. The final hearing was originally listed for May/June 2023 but postponed due to lack of judicial resources. When the hearing commenced in February 2025, the claimant withdrew his whistleblowing claim and the race discrimination claim was struck out as disclosing no arguable basis. On day 2, the claimant failed to attend, emailing early that morning to say he had a housing court hearing and later confirming he would not attend due to losing that case and being overwhelmed.
Decision
The tribunal dismissed the whistleblowing claim on withdrawal and struck out the race discrimination claim for disclosing no arguable basis. The constructive dismissal claim was dismissed under Rule 47 due to the claimant's non-attendance. The tribunal concluded that the claimant made a conscious choice not to attend despite being aware of the consequences, and that it would be neither appropriate to continue in his absence nor to adjourn given the delay, impact on respondent witnesses who had travelled significant distances, and tribunal resources.
Practical note
Failing to attend your own hearing without proper notice or adjournment application, even in difficult personal circumstances, will likely result in dismissal of claims under Rule 47, particularly where the case has already been significantly delayed and witnesses have incurred costs to attend.
Legal authorities cited
Statutes
Case details
- Case number
- 3205412/2021
- Decision date
- 26 February 2025
- Hearing type
- full merits
- Hearing days
- 2
- Classification
- contested
Respondent
- Name
- Arcus FM Limited
- Sector
- professional services
- Represented
- Yes
- Rep type
- lay rep
Claimant representation
- Represented
- No