Mr C Donga v First Eastern Counties Buses Ltd and 1 other — 2025

The hearing on 13 November 2025 before Employment Judge Tynan was listed to consider whether the claim should be struck out under Rule 38(1)(d) of the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024 on the basis that it was not being actively pursued. The claimant did not attend and was not represented. He had not made any written representations, and the tribunal noted that his solicitors had stopped acting for him on 4 August 2025, shortly before witness statements were due to be exchanged.

The tribunal recorded that the claimant had not provided a phone number or email address on the ET1, so further enquiries about his absence were not practicable. Notice of the hearing had been sent to the claimant's home address on 30 September 2025, and the respondents' witness statements and final hearing bundle were sent to the same address and signed for by him on 29 October 2025. The tribunal also noted that orders to provide a schedule of loss and disclosure by 27 May and 10 June 2025 remained outstanding, together with his witness statement due on 5 August 2025.

Employment Judge Tynan found that the claimant was no longer actively pursuing the claim, that there was no good reason for his non-attendance, and that the correspondence from the respondents' solicitors had not been acknowledged. The claims against the respondents were therefore dismissed under Rule 47. The judge stated that, had the claims not been dismissed under Rule 47, they would have been struck out under Rule 38(1)(d).