Contents

Suspensions damaging to your health
Redundancy pool dries up
Date fixed in concrete
Full pay for holidays
Assumed discrimination
Knowing about disability
Putting a figure on it
TUPE and the public sector

Date fixed in concrete

This case is a reminder of the risk of agreeing to hearing dates in the Tribunal, without first checking if all your witnesses are available.

Samuels, a fire fighter, was claiming race discrimination against his employers. At a directions hearing, a hearing date was fixed for August 2000 without any comment from the barrister for the employer. The employer, LFCDA, had only checked witness availability for May and June 2000.

But one of the employer's key witnesses, B, had already planned his holiday in August and would be abroad for some of the hearing time. The employers requested an adjournment to a later date. The Tribunal checked and found that B's travel booking had not yet been made and that the barrister had not known of the witnesses' availability in August as it was thought that the case would be listed before then.

The postponement was refused on the basis that the parties had been asked to check dates of availability, no objection was made to the dates fixed and because the holiday had not been booked.

The employers lost their appeal to the EAT. The Tribunal had not erred in law. The EAT emphasised that the it was in the interests of parties to have the case heard as soon as practicable.