Default judgment leads to £11,759 award for unfair dismissal and wage deductions
A former employee of Italia2U Limited won over £11,700 after the company failed to respond to their tribunal claim, resulting in a default judgment and a remedy hearing.
1 min read · Last updated 18 May 2026
Key facts
- The claimant issued a claim on 10 April 2023.
- The respondent failed to present a valid response on time.
- A default judgment was entered on 26 July 2023.
- The remedy hearing was held on 29 August 2023.
- The respondent did not attend the remedy hearing but submitted brief documentation.
- The tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence on financial losses.
Timeline
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Claim issued
The claimant issued a claim in the Midlands East Employment Tribunals.
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Default judgment
Employment Judge M Butler entered judgment for the claimant due to the respondent's failure to respond, and listed a remedy hearing.
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Remedy hearing
The remedy hearing was held at Leicester Employment Tribunal before Employment Judge Clark. The respondent did not attend but submitted documentation.
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Remedy judgment
Employment Judge Clark issued the remedy judgment awarding compensation.
The legal issue
The tribunal had to determine the amount of compensation for the former employee's successful claims of unfair dismissal and unauthorised deduction from wages, following a default judgment due to the employer's failure to respond.
The outcome
The tribunal found in favour of the former employee on both claims. The employer had failed to respond to the claim, leading to a default judgment on liability. At the remedy hearing, the employer did not attend but submitted some documentation.
Compensation was awarded as follows:
- Unauthorised deduction from wages: £759.56
- Basic award for unfair dismissal: £1,137.90
- Compensatory award for past loss: £5,655.03 (including £250 for loss of statutory rights)
- Compensatory award for future loss: £2,275.80
- 25% uplift for failure to follow ACAS Code: £1,982.71
- Additional award under Employment Act 2002: £758.60
- Total compensatory award before cap: £10,672.14, reduced to statutory cap of £9,861.80
- Total award: £11,759.26
Lessons & takeaways
- Employers must respond to tribunal claims on time; failure to do so can result in a default judgment against them.
- Even if an employer does not attend the remedy hearing, the tribunal can still award compensation based on the claimant's evidence.
- Tribunals can apply an uplift of up to 25% if the employer unreasonably fails to follow the ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.
- The statutory cap on the compensatory award for unfair dismissal (currently £9,861.80) may limit the total compensation, even if calculated losses are higher.
This case shows what can happen when an employer simply ignores an employment tribunal claim. The former employee of Italia2U Limited issued proceedings in April 2023, but the company failed to file a response. That led to a default judgment on liability in July, meaning the tribunal accepted the employee's version of events without a hearing on the merits.
At the remedy hearing in August, the employer did not attend but sent some paperwork. The tribunal accepted the employee's evidence on financial losses and calculated compensation for both the unfair dismissal and an unauthorised deduction from wages. The total award came to £11,759.26, including a 25% uplift because the employer had not followed the ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary procedures.
What could the employer have done differently?
The key mistake was failing to respond to the claim. Had Italia2U Limited submitted a defence, the case might have been contested or settled. Even after the default judgment, attending the remedy hearing could have allowed the employer to challenge the level of losses claimed. By staying away, they left the tribunal to rely solely on the employee's evidence.
Why this matters
For employees, this case is a reminder that tribunals can still award compensation even if the employer refuses to engage. For employers, it highlights the serious consequences of ignoring a claim. The ACAS uplift and additional award under the Employment Act 2002 added over £2,700 to the bill, penalties that could have been avoided by engaging with the process.
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