Hearing Of Muslim's Case On Ramadan Not Unfair According To Circumstances

Mr Khan, a Muslim, lost his claims for equal pay and unfair dismissal (http://www.ashbycohen.co.uk/unfair-dismissal-law.html) in Reading in September 2008. He subsequently appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT), claiming that he had not had a fair trial.

On the third day of his hearing, he had requested that the case be adjourned to allow him to observe Ramadan. The request was refused, Mr Khan left the court and his case was dismissed in his absence. He argued that the court had made an error of law by refusing to give him a fair trial, in contravention of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

His appeal was unsuccessful.

The EAT came to its decision after careful scrutiny of the exact details of the case. Mr Khan had been discovered by his employer accessing pornography and other inappropriate sites on his computer at work, and claims he had made alleging age and race discrimination were struck out because he had failed to provide information that the tribunal required. He had previous hearings postponed on medical grounds despite the fact that no medical diagnosis had ever been offered, and he had also requested an adjournment because he was not ready which was turned down. Mr Khan had already been granted "specific break times each day for the purposes of prayer" during Ramadan. The date for the hearing had been set on 29th May, which gave Mr Khan plenty of notice that it would...