Labour Court refuses Anthony O'Neill's application to extend appeal deadline

The Labour Court refused Anthony O'Neill’s application to extend the deadline for his appeal against Sap Landscapes Limited, finding that exceptional circumstances had not been established. The determination was signed on 29 April 2016, and the merits of his unfair-dismissal complaint were not decided. O’Neill said his union had placed the appeal notice with other correspondence for registered post on 2 October 2015, during a postal strike, and that the notice was found at the union office on 27 October. SAP Landscapes argued that the one-day strike did not prevent a timely appeal and said the union had told its representative on 4 November that it had received no instruction to appeal. The Court noted inconsistencies in O’Neill’s account and the uncontroverted account of the 4 November conversation. It also noted that no evidence of the union’s internal postal record had been presented.