Asked the Tribunal to Reconsider? Your Appeal Deadline Can Still Expire

Asking an Employment Tribunal to reconsider its judgment does not pause the deadline for an appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal, known as the EAT. You may need to consider both procedures at the same time.

In Sanni v Reed Specialist Recruitment Ltd and Financial Ombudsman Service Ltd [2026] EAT 148, an appeal was lodged six days late. The claimant believed time would not begin until the Tribunal decided his reconsideration application. The EAT refused to extend time.

The judgment was decided on 8 September and published on 28 September 2026. A Practice Direction issued on 1 October provides the procedural context for checking an appeal now.

Reconsideration and appeal have different purposes

Reconsideration asks the Tribunal to revisit its judgment under the applicable rules. An EAT appeal challenges an error of law. It is not a fresh hearing where you repeat your evidence because you disagree with the outcome.

An error of law can include applying the wrong legal test or failing to give legally adequate reasons. Whether a particular criticism amounts to an arguable legal error needs examination of the judgment and reasons.

Sanni does not mean that every late appeal must fail. It shows that this misunderstanding did not justify an extension in that case. Extensions are exceptional. A prompt reconsideration application does not remove the need to check appeal time.

Which Practice Direction applies?

The 2026 direction applies to appeals from Tribunal decisions sent to the parties on or after 2 March 2026. The 2024 direction remains applicable to decisions sent before that date.

The date of your appeal is not enough to select the direction. Check when the decision under challenge was sent. The October direction should not be described as the rules that governed every case in the September judgments.

The 42 days do not always run from the same document

For a judgment, the default is 42 days from the date the written judgment was sent. But the 2026 direction provides five circumstances in which time runs from sending the written full reasons instead:

• The Tribunal did not announce its decision at the hearing.
• It announced the decision but did not give oral reasons.
• It gave oral full reasons and a party requested written full reasons at the hearing or in writing within 14 days of sending the written judgment.
• It gave oral summary reasons, a party requested written summary reasons at the hearing or within 14 days of sending the judgment, and a party then requested written full reasons within 14 days of sending those summary reasons.
• It gave oral summary reasons, a party made the timely request for written summary reasons described above, and the Tribunal instead decided to provide written full reasons.

If you appeal an order, direction or another decision, the stated trigger is the date of that order, direction or decision. This is not necessarily the judgment sending rule. Reading a document later does not restart time.

Check the complete filing, not just the date

The triggering day is excluded when counting the 42 days. The complete appeal and required documents must reach the appropriate EAT office by 4pm on the final day. The direction also addresses days when the relevant office is closed. Do not assume a midnight deadline.

For a judgment appeal, check the required judgment and full reasons. If full reasons cannot be obtained, the direction requires an application addressing that problem. Include any reconsideration application and any outcome already received. Say if the outcome is still pending.

Do not wait for reconsideration before checking the appeal rules. Keep the decision and required documents with the relevant dates.

Frances N.U