Mr H Amin v Manchester Airports Group plc and 1 other — 2023

At a preliminary hearing on 9 January 2024, Employment Judge Holmes considered whether claim no. 2400799/2022, brought by Mr H Amin against Manchester Airports Group PLC and Francesca Abbott, remained struck out for non-payment of deposit orders. The underlying claim referred to constructive dismissal, disability discrimination, race discrimination and victimisation. At the earlier hearing the tribunal had ordered deposits of £25 per claim for the ten claims before it, payable by 31 May 2023, and there was no record of payment.

The claimant sought a postponement because he said he was in Pakistan concerning his father's health and would not return until at least 1 March 2024. The tribunal held that the application did not comply with the Presidential Guidance on Postponements or rule 30A because it was made less than seven days before the hearing without supporting evidence, details of the travel, or evidence of any illness. The judge found that the tribunal knew too little about the circumstances to treat them as exceptional.

The postponement application was refused. In the claimant's absence, and without a signed witness statement or evidence supporting his alleged attempt to pay the deposits, the tribunal dismissed any application for relief from sanction or reconsideration of the strike out. The result was that claim no. 2400799/2022 remained struck out; no substantive merits findings or compensation award were made.