The first case of unfair dismissal against liquidators PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) arising from the Independent Insurance redundancies had a preliminary hearing at London (Central) Employment Tribunal on 6 March.
The tribunal ruled that the respondent of the action, a test case for a number of employees, should be Independent Insurance itself, not PWC.
The decision means that former employees will have to apply to the court for leave under the Insolvency Act 1986 before they can bring an employment claim against Independent.
It also means that successful claimants will become unsecured creditors of Independent and will receive a proportion of their compensation.
The case has been deferred to a later date.