1 MRS M A ABELEDA 2 MR J C EUSTAQUIO 3 MS Q L LY 4 O Y CHEAH v Celestial Travel Ltd Preliminary Hearing — 2019

This was a preliminary hearing on 12 August 2019 before Employment Judge Oliver Segal Q.C. The First and Second Claimants were given permission to amend their claims so that Celestial Travel Ltd was substituted for Dr Minglian Chen as respondent under rule 34 of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure. The tribunal relied on evidence that those two claimants had been employed by Celestial, had internal email addresses ending @celestialtravel.co.uk, submitted timesheets for Celestial Travel attendance, and were referred to in contemporaneous messages as staff in Celestial Travel.

The tribunal noted Companies House material showing Celestial was still active and in the business of travel agency activities, with a registered office in Milton Keynes, and found it very likely that the First and Second Claimants had been employed by Celestial and that the business had relocated there. The position of the Third and Fourth Claimants was less clear: the First Claimant said they had worked for Jade Travel Ltd, but the judge did not feel able to make a finding on the evidence then available. They were ordered to confirm whether they wished to pursue their claims and, if so, whether against Jade Travel Ltd or another respondent; the tribunal indicated that amendment to substitute Jade Travel Ltd would likely be allowed if they did pursue the claims against that company.