not in attendance For the v Written — 2021

This was a preliminary hearing on 19 April 2021 before Employment Judge Dean at Birmingham. The claimant, Mr Rizwan Patel, was not in attendance and had asked by email and telephone for the hearing to be postponed because his mother had been taken into hospital on 17 April 2021. He said he was still at Coventry Hospital, that his mother had a heart condition and had tested positive for Covid, and that he could not leave because his wife did not speak English and his brother, who did speak English, was fasting and not fit to attend the hospital.

The tribunal refused the postponement application. It noted that the claimant had provided no medical evidence to support the request, either as to his own inability to attend or as to any inability on the part of his brother to accompany their mother. The judge also took account of the history of the litigation, including earlier unsuccessful adjournment applications, and found that the claimant was aware of the need to provide medical information when seeking a postponement. The tribunal considered the claimant could have made arrangements for another family member to attend the hospital and noted that he had had the bundle since 24 March 2021.

The judge concluded that, applying the balance of convenience and the overriding objective, it was right to refuse the latest postponement request. The hearing was to continue in the claimant's absence, subject to any later application to review the decision if additional medical information were provided. This judgment does not record any determination of the underlying disability discrimination or unfair dismissal claims, and it contains no remedy award.