# The Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024, Rule 5: Time

Extent: E+W+S

(1) Unless otherwise specified by the Tribunal, an act required by these Rules, a practice direction or an order of the Tribunal to be done on or by a particular day must 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 must 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.
(3) Where any act is required to be, or may be, done within or no later than a certain number of days of or from an event, the date of that event must not be included in the calculation. (For example, a response must be received within 28 days of the date on which the respondent was sent a copy of the claim: if the copy of the claim was sent on 1st October the latest date for receipt of the response by the Tribunal is 29th October).
(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 must not be included in the calculation. (For example, if a party wishes to send representations in writing for consideration by the Tribunal at a hearing, the representations must be received not less than 7 days before the hearing: if the hearing is fixed for 8th October, the representations must be received by the Tribunal no later than 1st October).
(5) Where the Tribunal imposes a time limit for doing any act, the last date for compliance should, 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 must, 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.
(7) The Tribunal may, on its own initiative or on the application of a party, extend or shorten any time limit specified in these Rules or in any decision, whether or not (in the case of an extension) it has expired.
(8) “Working day” means any day except a Saturday or Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday under section 1 of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/1155/rule/5 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/employment-tribunal-procedure-rules-2024/rule-5
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.