Mr Kolade Amujo v Represented by: Himself Genie Invest Ltd — 2024

Mr Kolade Amujo brought a claim for outstanding wages, saying he had worked for Genie Invest Ltd for a few months and had not been paid. He relied on documents purporting to show a contract in the respondent's name and WhatsApp communications using the director's name. The respondent said its details had been used fraudulently, that it had no staff, and that it had no knowledge of the claimant.

The tribunal accepted the respondent's account. It found that the paperwork produced by the claimant was not prepared by the respondent, that the information used came from public-domain material including the company's registration details, and that the email address and mobile number used in the dealings with the claimant were not those of the respondent. The claimant had worked remotely, had not met or spoken with the respondent's director, and had not seen him.

The tribunal was satisfied that Genie Invest Ltd was not the entity that had engaged the claimant or procured his services. It found that the respondent was an investment vehicle with no clients or staff and therefore was not liable to pay the claimant the sums sought. The claim was dismissed. The judgment also records that both parties believed a third party had used the respondent's details to secure the claimant's services without payment, but that issue was not determined as a separate claim.