Mr M S Saatci v Richmond Food & Supply Ltd and 3 others — 2026

This was a preliminary judgment determining a strike-out application made by the Second, Third and Fourth Respondents (the Individual Respondents) under Rule 38(1)(a). The Tribunal decided the application on the written submissions without a hearing, having regard to Rule 38(2) and the overriding objective.

The Claimant's pleaded claims, as set out in the Statement of Case attached to his ET1, were for unpaid salary (approximately £20,000), three months' pay in lieu of notice (approximately £16,250) and accrued holiday pay (approximately £2,923.55). Employment Judge Abbott found that the statutory bases for these claims (section 23(1)(a) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, Regulation 3 of the Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) Order 1994 read with section 3(2) of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996, and Regulation 30(1)(b) of the Working Time Regulations 1998) only permit claims against the employer or counterparty to a contract connected with employment. The Claimant's own case was that his employer was the First Respondent and he did not assert any separate contractual relationship with the Individual Respondents.

On that basis the Tribunal concluded that the claims against the Individual Respondents had no reasonable prospects of success and struck them out. The claim against the First Respondent, Richmond Food & Supply Ltd, was directed to proceed to the Final Hearing already listed for 14 April 2026, with the parties required to comply with existing directions and encouraged to consider amicable resolution.