Appeal No.	 PA/1208/96

EMPLOYMENT APPEAL TRIBUNAL
58 VICTORIA EMBANKMENT, LONDON EC4Y 0DS

	At the Tribunal
	On 17 March 1997

Before
THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE MORISON (P)
(AS IN CHAMBERS)

MR C BAKER	APPELLANT

FLEET CAR CONTRACTS LTD	RESPONDENTS

Transcript of Proceedings

JUDGMENT

Revised

	APPEARANCES

For the Appellant	IN PERSON	
For the Respondents	MR K MCNERNEY
(Representative)
Peninsula Business Services Ltd
Stamford House
361-365 Chapel Street
Manchester
M3 5JY	

	MR JUSTICE MORISON (PRESIDENT):     This is an appeal against the Registrar’s refusal to extend time for lodging a Notice of Appeal.  In the special circumstances of this case I am prepared to allow the appeal because I am assured by Mr and Mrs Baker that they posted their letter on 28 September, which would have arrived here in the normal course of a post within time.  I am troubled very much by the truth of what I have been told, but it seems to me that this is a case where I can, and indeed, should accept the truth of what I have been assured is the fact.  Accordingly, the fact that the envelope in which the application was posted to us bears a postmark of 1 October should not, of itself, lead to an opposite conclusion.

	By extending time I have also taken into account the fact that they are out of time for lodging the appeal against the Registrar’s decision.  It seems to me that, if the justice of the case, as I believe it does, requires time to be extended because they posted their letter on 28 September 1996, which should have arrived here within time, it would be wrong to deprive them of a hearing merely because they failed to appeal the Registrar’s decision timeously.

	Having regard to the fact that, in the peculiar circumstances of this case, I am prepared to overrule the Registrar’s decision.