Postman who relied on the mail loses his case

A sacked postman who sent his application for an industrial tribunal hearing by first-class mail should not have expected it to arrive the next day, the Court of Appeal ruled yesterday.

Under employment legislation, Russell Sealy, from Pinner, north-west London, had three months to submit a complaint that he had been unfairly dismissed after he was sacked for gross misconduct. He posted his application for a hearing on Friday 6 October 2000, but it did not arrive until 10 October, two days over the cut-off date.

An Employment Tribunal ruled that Mr Sealy was not unreasonable in relying on the post to get his letter to them on time and the fact that it was outside the limit was caused by a delay in the post. Consignia, which is changing its name to Royal Mail, took the case to the Court of Appeal, claiming the tribunal was wrong to find that Mr Sealy had a reasonable expectation that a first-class letter posted on a Friday would arrive the next day.

Lord Justices Brooke and Latham and Mr Justice Hart set aside the tribunal's decision and sent the case back to another tribunal to decide whether to extend the time limit in the light of their judgment.