Mr Ali, director v Respondent — 2020

At a public preliminary hearing by Skype for Business on 6 April 2020, Employment Judge JM Wade considered The Firehouse Bradford Ltd's appeal against HMRC's Notice of Underpayment of National Minimum Wage and Penalty. Mr Ali, for the claimant, said the appeal was late because of extenuating circumstances, including time spent out of the country, winding down the business, caring responsibilities and bereavements. He relied on Rule 5 of the Employment Tribunal Rules and on a previous decision extending time.

HMRC submitted that the relevant time limit was statutory, under section 19C of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, and that Rule 5 could not be used to extend it. The tribunal accepted that submission, stating that it had fallen into error in the earlier extension of time decision and that the decision should be varied in the interests of justice and revoked. It held that service at the company's registered office was good service and that personal receipt was not required in these circumstances.

The tribunal referred to Mucelli v Government of Albania as supporting the proposition that a rule allowing extensions cannot be used to disapply an absolute statutory time limit. It therefore found that the appeal had been presented outside the relevant time limit and must be dismissed, so the tribunal could not determine it.