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#Post#: 125806--------------------------------------------------
Employment Tribunal Win
DIR By: roythebus
Date: July 26, 2026, 3:47 pm
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I'm not usually here to blow my own trumpet, but 2 years ago I,
along with 240+ others were put out of work when the bus company
we worked for closed down without notice. There was no
consultation, no warning, nothing, just a note on the office
door saying words to the effect of "we've shut down, wait to
hear from the liquidators". To cut a long story short there was
no recognised trade union and no workers representative, so we
were up the proverbial creek without a paddle.
We had a whatsapp chat group and used that as a means of
contact. It transpired there were 4 groups of workers, those of
us on zero hours, mostly doing rail replacement work and some
local and TfL services, another group of drivers who came into
the company by TUPE when their routes transferred to this
company, another group of full time contract drivers who mainly
done commercial county council bus services, and another group
who weren't on the whatsapp group.
I was asked by a number of people in the first group to help
them as most of them don't have English as a first language. we
all got through the Redundancy Pay and Loss of Notice pay, a
process which took months, and eventually meant that any claims
for an Employment Tribunal would have been out of date! Luckily
I happened to be the first to go through the process and got my
claim in on time. It took months for the Tribunal to contact
anyone, but in the meanwhile others joined in the claim. I had a
total of 23 people; the TUPE group were trade union members form
their previous employers and had a TU solicitor, and the other
drivers found another version of me to deal with their claims,
another group of over 20.
It was a very long wait with hearings planned for earlier this
year, an initial hearing in January, another in April with the
main hearing set for earlier in July 2026. The judge should have
sent directions for the previous hearing and the one before but
he apologised for this as he and the office staff are overworked
and understaffed, as is most of the government legal system. He
was a very pleasant chap; he accepted that all claims would be
back-dated to the date of the first application, and all the
claims would be for Protective Award, a form of compensation
which will be paid from the company if there's any funds left.
There isn't so the amount will be subject to a government cap.
The judge also accepted the problems dealing with a lot of
people for whom English is not their first language. He found in
our favour and also found in favour of the TUPE group. The other
group of drivers will have their hearing in September, it is a
more complex case as they are all making claims under TUPE as
the director has 2 other bus companies one of which has
transferred a number of staff without consultation.
I've not made mention of this matter before in case it would
prejudice matters. Speaking to the ET office staff they are very
polite and helpful, but severely understaffed. Top marks to them
for helping in this rather complex case and being very tolerant
and extending deadlines. I must admitI had a lot of sleepless
nights hoping I could get all the info in the right order on the
right dates. The waiting list for cases now exceeds 3 years.
#Post#: 125946--------------------------------------------------
Re: Employment Tribunal Win
DIR By: Fluffykins
Date: July 27, 2026, 4:47 pm
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Well done that man.
#Post#: 125962--------------------------------------------------
Re: Employment Tribunal Win
DIR By: kno
Date: July 27, 2026, 6:58 pm
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Great job on this. I believe it was your persistence that worked
out.
I also appreciate helping others where most do not have the
capability to do so. We must help those who cannot help
themselves.
#Post#: 126424--------------------------------------------------
Re: Employment Tribunal Win
DIR By: roythebus
Date: July 31, 2026, 1:34 pm
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Thanks, these guys (and a couple of gals) are the backbone of
moving people around London, driving buses. What some prefer
weren't here. These are all good honest hard-working people,
mostly here with families, all here legally or born here, they
get on with the job of driving buses. They were treated badly by
"the system" with the intransigence of TfL management forcing
the company with no other option than to close down at short
notice.
"The system", in this case the Employment Tribunal, never an
easy place to deal with, and never quick, got there eventually
despite the cuts in government funding over the last few years.
It was hard work for my partner and I dealing with some of the
claimants, most of whom we know, most of whom don't have English
as their first language. Now the wait for the last group's
claims to be resolved in September. Quite when the pay-outs will
be made is anybody's guess.
#Post#: 126697--------------------------------------------------
Re: Employment Tribunal Win
DIR By: astralite
Date: August 3, 2026, 8:21 am
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Well done Roy
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