Leonard Ogilvy (Legal Representative/Consultant) For the v Respondent — 2021

Ugonna Nwachukwu said he was employed by Longrich International (UK) Ltd from 22 October 2019 to 19 August 2020 as a company lawyer; the respondent denied any contract with it and said any arrangement was with Longliqi International (Nig) Ltd. The tribunal heard no oral evidence and said it would make only limited factual findings because the paper evidence was incomplete and unclear in places.

The documents included a 22 October 2019 appointment letter referring to Longliqi International (Nig) Ltd, later warehouse and brand-registration correspondence, and a draft "Legal Services Contract Agreement" backdated to 4 March 2020 naming "Longrich International". The draft described the claimant as an independent contractor but also referred to monthly payment at an annual rate of £30,000, reimbursement of expenses, a right to delegate or subcontract, and one week of paid holiday every six months.

Applying the strike-out authorities, the tribunal refused the respondent's rule 37 application. It held that there were significant disputed facts about the identity of the contracting party and the claimant's status, including cross-over between Longrich entities and communications through "Leo" / Cao Yue, and it was not possible to conclude from the documents alone that the claims had no reasonable prospects of success. The tribunal nevertheless said the claims had little reasonable prospects against the respondent and made a separate deposit order. The holiday pay claim and the s.1 ERA statement-of-terms complaint were withdrawn and dismissed upon withdrawal.