Former employee secures unfair dismissal award against collapsed firm

A former employee of a now-closed Chinese firm has secured a five-figure payment after a tribunal ruled she was unfairly dismissed. 

Employment Judge Nash, sitting in the London Central Employment Tribunal, ordered that Zhong Lun Law Firm Limited should pay the claimant, listed as Ms Y Ding, a total of £38,820 following a two-day hearing last month.

A notice posted in the London Gazette confirmed that Zhong Lun, which had operated from the Square Mile, had appointed administrators from insolvency firm Quantuma Advisory on 30 December. Administrators have yet to report on the company’s financial position so it is unclear what, if anything, Ding will recover from her award.

According to the tribunal judgment, Ding appeared for the hearing in person while the firm was not present.

The judge awarded Ding a total of £3,669 for unfair dismissal and £9,280 as a contractual notice payment. She also ruled that the firm failed to pay the claimant in respect of annual leave under working time regulations. Compensation was awarded based on 98 days’ worth of missed payments from 2021 to 2024 inclusive.

Written reasons were not provided in the judgment.

Zhong Lun had been opened in London in 2012 by its Chinese parent company – one of the biggest law firms in the country.

The most recent annual accounts for Zhong Lun Law Firm Limited, covering the year ended 31 March 2025, show the business had reduced staff numbers from 51 to 33. Cash reserves had fallen from £610,000 to £91,000 but the business had increased its net assets to around £926,000.