In the case of Mr A Haydar v Pennine Acute NHS Trust, the Court of Appeal held that the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) had been right to refuse an extension of time to appeal where the Notice of Appeal had been lost in the post and the appellant had not chased it up promptly.
Following the case of Peters v Sat Katar Co Ltd, a guidance booklet was issued which states that “If you have not received an acknowledgment from the EAT within seven days of posting the Notice of Appeal, you should contact the EAT to confirm they have received your appeal”.
The appellant, Mr Haydar, posted his appeal to the EAT before the 42-day time limit. However, five weeks after the expiry of the time limit he realised that he had not received an acknowledgment that the EAT had received his Notice of Appeal. The EAT informed Mr Haydar that they had not received his appeal and therefore it must have been lost in the post. As a result, Mr Haydar issued a new Notice of Appeal and applied for an extension of time, however the Registrar refused his application for an extension.
Mr Haydar therefore appealed to the EAT. He claimed that he had not read the guidance booklet which was referred to in the letter he had received enclosing the Employment Tribunal’s judgment.
The EAT upheld the Registrar’s decision to refuse Mr Haydar’s application for an extension of time as it found that Mr Haydar should have read the booklet and had no good excuse for failing to do so.
Mr Haydar appealed to the Court of Appeal, however his appeal was rejected. The Court of Appeal held that the EAT had been right to conclude that Mr Haydar should have read the guidance booklet. He was at fault for not checking whether or not his Notice of Appeal had been received by the EAT.
This case highlights the importance of following up and ensuring that claims have been received if no acknowledgment is received promptly.
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