The Industrial Tribunals and Fair Employment Tribunal (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020

Time

5.—(1) Unless otherwise specified by the tribunal, an act required by these Rules, a practice direction or an order of a tribunal to be done on or by a particular day may be done at any time before midnight on that day. If there is an issue as to whether the act has been done by that time, the party claiming to have done it shall prove compliance.

(2) If the time specified by these Rules, a practice direction or an order for doing any act ends on a day other than a working day, the act is done in time if it is done before midnight on the next working day. “Working day” means any day except a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday(1).

(3) Where any act is required to be, or may be, done within a certain number of days of or from an event, the date of that event shall not be included in the calculation. (For example, a response shall be presented within 28 days of the date on which the respondent was sent a copy of the claim: if the claim was sent on 1st May the last day for presentation of the response is 29th May.)

(4) Where any act is required to be, or may be, done not less than a certain number of days before or after an event, the date of that event shall not be included in the calculation. (For example, if a party wishes to present representations in writing for consideration by a tribunal at a hearing, they shall be presented not less than 7 days before the hearing: if the hearing is fixed for 8th May, the representations shall be presented no later than 1st May.)

(5) Where the tribunal imposes a time limit for doing any act, the last date for compliance shall, wherever practicable, be expressed as a calendar date.

(6) Where time is specified by reference to the date when a document is sent to a person by the tribunal, the date when the document was sent shall, unless the contrary is proved, be regarded as the date endorsed on the document as the date of sending or, if there is no such endorsement, the date shown on the letter accompanying the document.

(1)

“Public holiday” is defined in s. 39(8) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 (c. 33) so as to include Christmas Day, Good Friday, any bank holiday appointed by or under any statutory provision and any day appointed for public thanksgiving or mourning. Schedule 1 of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 (c. 80) lists the following bank holidays in respect of Northern Ireland: 17th March (or 18th March if 17th is a Sunday); Easter Monday; the last Monday in May; the last Monday in August; 26th December (if it is not a Sunday); and 27th December (if 25th or 26th is a Sunday).