Mrs Esra Celik v Synnovis and 7 others — 2024

Mrs Esra Celik brought an unfair dismissal claim naming Synnovis and seven individual respondents. The tribunal had previously written to the claimant explaining that, as a matter of law, only the employer could be liable for the dismissal complaint and invited her to make representations. In response, the claimant argued that Mr Best had taken the dismissal decision and therefore must be the employer, but the tribunal rejected that contention and explained that, if he was acting in the course of his employment, liability would rest with the actual employer.

The tribunal found there was no dispute that Synnovis was the correct employer. On that basis, it concluded that the claims against respondents 2 to 8 had no reasonable prospect of success and struck them out under Rule 37(1)(a) of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure. The judgment did not decide the merits of the underlying unfair dismissal claim against Synnovis.