EAT Practice and Procedure : Postponement or Stay – The Employment Tribunal fixed a hearing for 23/4/12 to 1/5/12. On the eve of the hearing the parties were notified it was cancelled because no judge was available. On 1/5/12 the ET sent out new dates, 28/8/12 to 5/9/12; the parties had not been asked for dates to avoid. On 9/5/12 the Respondent applied for an adjournment and new dates on the basis that their most important witness had a longstanding wedding commitment overseas during the proposed hearing dates. This application was refused on the basis that points made by the Claimant in a letter were well-founded; in particular she stated that the Respondent had other witnesses and did not require the witness in question. On analysis the Claimant’s points were not well-founded and the ET had therefore taken into account irrelevant matters in refusing the adjournment and the Respondent’s appeal must be allowed. Because of the imminence of the proposed hearing date the EAT itself decided the adjournment application and allowed it.
Judges:
Shanks J
Citations:
[2012] UKEAT 0361 – 12 – 2507
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Employment
Updated: 05 November 2022; Ref: scu.464253