Mrs C Cretan v Mr A Al-Chalabi — 2020

The hearing was on the respondent's application to strike out the claim because the ACAS early conciliation certificate named Kings College London, while the claim form named Ammar Al-Chalabi. The tribunal checked the office file and found that the claim had been referred to an Employment Judge, who had instructed the office to accept it as against KCL. The respondent then sought reconsideration under rule 70.

Applying rule 12(2A) and considering Giny v SNA Transport Ltd and Chard v Trowbridge Office Cleaning Services Ltd, Employment Judge Kelly held that the claimant's naming error was minor. The tribunal accepted that the claimant was an unrepresented party who had formed a real link in her mind between Mr Al-Chalabi and KCL, and that she intended to name the person she considered authorised to respond to her claim rather than to act with procedural formality.

The tribunal found that rejecting the claim would cause the kind of injustice warned against in Chard and would prejudice the claimant by preventing her from pursuing the claim at all. It held that the error caused no prejudice to the respondent beyond loss of a windfall limitation defence. The respondent's application to strike out was dismissed, and the tribunal noted that Mr Al-Chalabi remained the respondent unless and until a further order was made on substitution.