Ms K Rowbottom First v Second Respondent Syriana One Ltd Mr Khaled Al Sabbah — 2025

Employment Judge Leach, sitting alone at Manchester by CVP on 27-31 October 2025, dismissed all of the claimant's complaints against Syriana One Ltd and Mr Khaled Al Sabbah. The complaints included constructive unfair dismissal, detriment for making a protected disclosure, harassment related to sex (and race), direct sex (and race) discrimination, and a holiday pay claim under the Working Time Regulations 1998. The dismissal was made on the application of Rules 50 and 51 of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure and the rule in Henderson v Henderson (1843) 3 Hare 100.

During the hearing the Tribunal identified an earlier claim (case number 2402683/2024) that the claimant had issued against the first respondent and subsequently withdrawn, resulting in a prior judgment dismissing that claim on withdrawal. The existence of this First Claim had not been disclosed during case management of the two later claims and became apparent only at the final hearing, giving rise to the jurisdiction issue that led to the present dismissal.

The Tribunal also recorded that the respondents had been in serious and inexcusable breach of case management orders, providing four short witness statements only days before the hearing and failing to engage in disclosure or to assemble an agreed bundle. The Judge described the respondents' conduct as unreasonable for the purposes of Rule 38(1)(b) but declined to strike out the response, considering a fair hearing remained possible within the listed five days.