Troubles at Manchester tech firm Chatloop may be set to intensify, with a further Employment Tribunal matter progressing and a separate group claim that sources say is likely to be decided in favour of a majority of claimants.
Following a string of employment tribunals ruling in favour of former employees, Prolific North has now seen correspondence from the Employment Tribunal stating that a judge is preparing a Rule 22 default judgment in favour of another former employee after no response was received from the company. An ET3 response is the employer’s formal response. Where no valid ET3 is filed in time, a tribunal may issue a default judgment under Rule 22, under the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024.
Separately, a multi-claimant case first reported by Prolific North is understood to have gone ahead last week. While the official judgment is not yet published, Prolific North understands that seven of the nine former employees are set to be awarded unpaid wages, plus accrued holiday, according to sources, Formal decisions are expected to be sent to claimants within the next couple of weeks. Sources close to the case estimate the total liability across the awards at around £70,000.
Prolific North has not yet seen the written judgments, which are expected to be issued to parties in the coming days. The details remain subject to the tribunal’s final written judgments.
When asked by Prolific North, CEO Andrew Barlow said he had a policy of not commenting on “ongoing or resolved disputes.”
He added: “Like many growing businesses, we’ve faced challenges and continue to strengthen how we operate while delivering for customers. I remain fully engaged as CEO, focused on momentum and building long-term value.”
The latest developments follow a string of tribunal decisions against Chatloop, as reported by Prolific North. In June, an employment judge issued a judgment against Chatloop, finding one employee’s complaints of unfair dismissal, breach of contract, holiday pay and redundancy payment to be well-founded. A remedy hearing for that case is listed for October. In May, a separate decision was also issued in favour of another former employee.
These latest tribunals bring the number of former employees involved in tribunal claims against Chatloop to more than 10.
As reported last week, Chatloop is also facing mounting civil liabilities. Five county court judgments (CCJs) have been registered against the company this year, totalling £150,708. According to documents, none are shown as satisfied at the time of publication. The judgments include an order for £68,337 and the most recent on 4 July for £10,455.
Chatloop founder and CEO Andrew Barlow has previously told Prolific North the company has “strengthened governance and financial management over the past year” and continues to “deliver for customers” despite challenging market conditions.
Founded in Manchester, Chatloop set out to “revolutionise” how users share and discuss web content, raising £2.1m in seed funding and becoming one of a small number of UK apps approved by Apple as a default browser.
