The applicant sought to review and set aside a ruling by a CCMA commissioner which dismissed his application for condonation for the late referral of a dispute to the CCMA. The referral was 173 days late. The commissioner considered the explanation for the delay, the degree of lateness, and the applicant’s prospects of success, and found that the delay was excessive, the explanation inadequate, and that the applicant lacked prospects of success because the evidence showed he was an independent contractor rather than an employee of the third respondent.