The devout Muslims were told they were not entitled to more rest periods than non-Muslim colleagues.

Abdinour Omer and Guled Bashir, who insisted they had insufficient time for prayer, took Royal Mail to an employment tribunal, claiming religious discrimination.

The hearing in Bristol was told that the Somali agency workers, who cannot speak English, wanted three additional breaks during their 4pm-to-midnight shift at the city’s main sorting office.

But they dropped their claim just hours into the case, after being told they had “no chance of winning”.

The postal workers’ legal representative was warned that tribunal chairman Clive Toomer would “almost cer­tainly” reject their claim.