Ms B Tomaszewska v Molly Evans — 2019

Ms B Tomaszewska brought proceedings against Molly Evans by a claim form presented on 16 August 2018. The judgment states that the claim was based on race discrimination. A response denying the complaint was received on 4 October 2018, and the case was later listed for a preliminary hearing on 30 September 2019 after the original March 2019 date was postponed.

Before the hearing, the tribunal wrote to the claimant on 14 November 2018 asking whether she wished to make a claim against her employer, because the named respondent was a fellow employee. There was no response. On 27 September 2019 tribunal staff telephoned the claimant and left a voicemail reminder about the hearing. The claimant did not attend the hearing, and there had been no communication from her to the tribunal or the respondent.

The respondent, represented by Mr S Morley, asked for the claim to be struck out on the basis that it was not being actively pursued. The tribunal referred to rule 47 of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2013, which allows a tribunal to dismiss or proceed in the absence of a party after considering available information about the absence, and noted rule 37(1)(d), which permits strike out where a claim is not being actively pursued. The claimant had not explained her absence or applied for an adjournment, and the tribunal was satisfied that the claim was not being actively pursued, so it dismissed the claim.