Employer's failure to respond leads to default judgment for unfair dismissal and unpaid wages
A former employee with seven years' service won £5,687.63 after his employer failed to file a response to his tribunal claims for unfair dismissal, unpaid sick pay, holiday pay and notice pay.
1 min read · Last updated 18 May 2026
Key facts
- The respondent failed to file a response to the claimant's claims.
- The claimant was employed for seven years and was over 41 years old during employment.
- The claimant was awarded a basic award of £3,392.23 based on 1.5 weeks' pay per year of service.
- The claimant was awarded compensatory award of ten weeks' sick pay at £99.35 per week.
- The claimant was awarded unpaid wages (sick pay) from 1 May to 9 June 2022.
- The total award was £5,687.63.
Timeline
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Start of unpaid sick pay period
The claimant was not paid sick pay from this date.
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End of unpaid sick pay period
The unpaid sick pay period ended.
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Liability judgment
Employment Judge Ross issued a judgment that the claimant's claims for unfair dismissal, notice pay, and holiday pay succeeded due to the respondent's failure to file a response.
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Remedy hearing
A remedy hearing was held at Manchester Employment Tribunal by CVP. The claimant attended in person; the respondent did not attend.
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Remedy judgment
Employment Judge Ross issued the remedy judgment awarding the claimant £5,687.63 in total.
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Judgment sent to parties
The written record of the remedy judgment was sent to the parties.
The legal issue
The tribunal had to determine the remedy for the claimant's successful claims for unfair dismissal, notice pay, and holiday pay after the respondent failed to file a response.
The outcome
The tribunal awarded the claimant a total of £5,687.63, comprising:
- Basic award: £3,392.23 (1.5 weeks' pay per year of service, based on age over 41)
- Compensatory award: £999.35 (ten weeks' sick pay at £99.35 per week)
- Unpaid wages: £496.75 (sick pay from 1 May to 9 June 2022)
- Holiday pay: £103.85 (five days' holiday less amount already paid)
- Notice pay: £695.45 (seven weeks' notice at statutory sick pay rate)
The respondent did not attend the remedy hearing and had previously failed to file a response to the claims.
Lessons & takeaways
- Employers must file a response to tribunal claims within the deadline, or risk a default judgment against them.
- Employees with over two years' service are entitled to a basic award for unfair dismissal, calculated based on age, length of service and weekly pay.
- Unpaid contractual sick pay can be claimed as unlawful deduction from wages if the employer fails to pay what is owed.
- Holiday pay and notice pay are separate claims that can succeed even if the main unfair dismissal claim is not contested.
- Representing yourself at a remedy hearing is possible, but ensure you have evidence of all losses claimed.
This case shows what can happen when an employer simply ignores tribunal proceedings. The former employee, who had worked for Tidysite Building and Construction Service Limited for seven years, brought claims for unfair dismissal, unpaid wages, holiday pay and notice pay. When the company failed to file a response, the tribunal issued a default judgment on liability, meaning the claims succeeded without a full hearing on the merits.
At the remedy hearing, the claimant attended in person while the respondent was absent. The tribunal calculated compensation based on his age (over 41), length of service and weekly pay. The basic award of £3,392.23 reflected 1.5 weeks' pay per year of service. The compensatory award covered ten weeks of sick pay, which the tribunal treated as the loss caused by the dismissal. Additional awards covered unpaid sick pay from May to June 2022, holiday pay for five days, and seven weeks' notice pay.
What the employer could have done differently
Tidysite could have avoided this outcome entirely by filing a response to the claim. Even if they had a valid defence, failing to engage with the process meant the tribunal had no choice but to find against them. Attending the remedy hearing might have allowed them to challenge the amounts claimed, but their absence meant the tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence unchallenged.
Why this matters
For employees, this case is a reminder that tribunal claims can succeed even if the employer does not defend them. However, the compensation is limited to what can be proven. The claimant here provided clear evidence of his weekly pay and the periods of unpaid sick leave. For employers, the message is clear: ignoring a tribunal claim does not make it go away – it leads to a default judgment and a potentially higher award.
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