Rehman v T Class Security Ltd
2014
COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)
United Kingdom
CORAM
- LORD JUSTICE VOS
Areas of Law
- Employment Law
- Civil Procedure
2014
COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)
United Kingdom
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The appellant sought permission to appeal against an Employment Appeal Tribunal's decision, which refused his request for an extension of time to file an appeal notice. The Tribunal's initial decision dismissed the appellant's claims of unfair dismissal, racial discrimination, harassment, and non-payment of compensation. The appellant's delay in filing the appeal notice was not excused by the court, leading to the dismissal of his application for permission to appeal. The court emphasized that extensions require a full and honest explanation for any delay and found no question of law or valid legal basis to challenge the discretion exercised by the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
J U D G M E N T
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LORD JUSTICE VOS:
Introduction
1. This is the renewed oral application for permission to appeal against the order made by the Employment Appeal Tribunal on 3 June 2014, now more than a year ago, whereby it refused the Appellant an extension of time to a file an appellant's notice in respect of the Employment Tribunal's decision which was made on 2 October 2013, now more than 20 months ago.
2. The background is pretty straightforward. The Appellant was employed by the Respondent as a security guard for 2 years until May 2012. He brought Employment Tribunal proceedings for, amongst other things, unfair dismissal, direct racial discrimination and harassment and non-payment of compensation.
3. Certain agreement was reached between the parties prior to the lengthy Employment Tribunal hearing, but the substantive claims were ultimately dismissed in the Tribunal's decision to which I have already referred, dated 2 October 2013.
4. The Rules allow the Appellant 42 days to file his appellant's notice with the Employment Appeal Tribunal. That period expired, as the judge in the Employment Appeal Tribunal ultimately found, on 13 November 2013.
5. The Appellant tried unsuccessfully to e-mail his appellant's notice on 14 November at 13.30. The notice was successfully filed late on 14 November after the office had closed at 1600 hours, meaning that the Employment Appeal Tribunal accepted the appellants' notice as having been filed on the business day of 15 November 2013, which was 2 days out of time according to the finding of the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
6. On 31 January 2014 the Appellant's application for an extension of time was refused by the registrar of the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
7. On 3 June 2014 the matter came before His Honour Judge David Richardson sitting in the Employment Appeal Tribunal who dismissed the Appellant's appeal against the registrar's refusal to extend time.
8. On 23 October 2014 Lewison LJ considered the application for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal against the EAT's decision on paper. Lewison LJ refused the Appellant's application for permission to appeal, saying that no question of law had been identified on which it was said that the EAT had gone wrong, bearing in mind that an appeal to the EAT lies only on a question of law and there were no grounds for thinking that the judge exercised his discretion on the wrong principles. The best that could be said for the Appellant was that