EAT Practice and Procedure: Time for Appealing – Appeal from Registrar’s Order refusing extension of time for appeal.
The Appellant suffering from a disability (he is registered blind) and contending that the time for his appeal should only have run from the date he received the Braille version of the ET’s Reasons.
Allowing that reasonable adjustments should be made to ameliorate any disadvantage suffered by the Respondent as a result of his disability, his evidence was that his computer software meant he was able to ‘read’ messages and ‘Word’ attachments emailed to him and he was unable to explain why he would not have been able to read the ‘Word’ version of the ET’s Reasons apparently emailed to him on 22 July 2014. The Appellant further accepted that he was aware of the ET’s Reasons given orally at the hearing and had been able to make an application for reconsideration within time (taking time to have run from the date the Reasons were sent to the parties, 22 July 2014). Furthermore, in evidence to the ET he had conceded that his son assisted him by reading documentation to him. In those circumstances, it was not apparent that the Respondent had suffered any disadvantage upon receiving the ‘Word’ version of the ET’s Reasons on 22 July 2014 and yet he did not lodge his Notice of Appeal with the EAT until 15 January 2015.
Even if that assessment was incorrect, the Appellant received the Braille version of the ET’s Reasons on 7 November 2014 but still failed to lodge his Notice of Appeal until 15 January 2015 (outside the further 42 day period he contended he was entitled to after receiving the Braille version of the Reasons). That the Appellant then spent some time seeking advice did not provide a good explanation. He had been able to send the supporting documentation to the ET on 15 December 2014 and was unable to explain why he did not then submit his Notice of Appeal for a further month.
Applying United Arab Emirates v Abdelghafar [1995] ICR 65 EAT, the Appellant had been unable to show an explanation (let alone a good explanation) for his default and there was no basis for allowing an extension of time for the appeal in this case.
[2015] UKEAT 1178 – 14 – 0210
Bailii
England and Wales
Employment
Updated: 06 January 2022; Ref: scu.554881