The claimant applied through Reed for a paralegal role with the Financial Ombudsman Service but was told matters would go no further because he was subject to a County Court judgment. He claimed race and disability discrimination and breach of contract, but withdrew for health reasons, and the tribunal dismissed the claim upon withdrawal, refusing reconsideration. His Notice of Appeal against that decision reached the EAT six days late and the Registrar refused to extend time. He appealed, citing ill-health, housing and family pressures, regulator enquiries, voluntary work, and mistakenly believing time ran from the tribunal’s reconsideration decision.

HHJ Auerbach dismissed the appeal. The reason the appeal was late was because the claimant had, as he had admitted, wrongly assumed that time would not begin to run until he received the tribunal’s decision on a reconsideration application. After he received that decision he realised his mistake, but too late. That mistake was not a good excuse, nor was there otherwise any sufficient reason to extend time in this case.