The applicant had made a claim to the tribunal, but then applied for an adjournment on medical grounds, submitting a medical certificate.
Held: Where a refusal to exercise a discretion could lead to the loss of significant rights, a court should be particularly careful before refusing to exercise it. Here they had doubts about the veracity of a medical certificate, but there had been alternatives to refusing an adjournment and proceeding in the applicant’s absence. To proceed in his absence was to deny him his right to a fair trial under the Convention. The exercise of a discretion could be set aside where the court had taken into account an irrelevant factor. The EAT had been right to uphold an appeal against the dismissal of the claim. Each such application fell to be decided on its own facts, and the court was not introducing a rule as to how such matters were to be dealt with.
Judges:
Lord Justice Peter Gibson, Lady Justice Arden and Mr Justice Buckley
Citations:
Times 21-Aug-2002, [2002] IRLR 721
Statutes:
European Convention on Human Rights 10
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Bastick v James Lane (Turf Accountants) Ltd 1979
The court considered an appeal against a refusal of an adjournment of proceedings before the industrial tribunal when criminal proceedings on the same issues were pending.
Held: The court refused to interfere with the exercise of his dicretion . .
Appeal from – Teinaz v Wandsworth Borough Council EAT 25-Jan-2001
Preliminary hearing. . .
Cited by:
See Also – Teinaz v Wandsworth EAT 22-Nov-2001
EAT Procedural Issues – Employment Tribunal. . .
Cited – O’Cathail v Transport for London EAT 13-Jan-2012
EAT PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
Case management
Postponement or stay (refusal of adjournment)
The Claimant submitted medical evidence to the effect that he was unfit to attend the hearing of his claim . .
Cited – Riley v The Crown Prosecution Service CA 30-Jul-2013
The claimant’s employment action had been struck out when the Tribunal concluded that given the medical evidence a fair trial would not be possible within the forseeable future. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Employment, Human Rights
Updated: 08 May 2022; Ref: scu.174715