If you have staff (or you yourself) working abroad but flying home through the UK, this case matters.
The facts: Michael Parker, a UK-based engineer working in Iraq, spent 100 midnights in the UK in 2019/20. To stay non-UK resident, he needed to get under 91 days. HMRC accepted 7 days were Covid-related, but argued the following:
- Three overnight Heathrow layovers (booked as separate tickets, with his wife meeting him there) didn't count as genuine "transit."
- A night stuck in the UK after his flight to Dublin was cancelled due to Storm Jorge wasn't "exceptional circumstances," because he didn't scramble for a same-day alternative.
HMRC lost on both counts. The Tribunal held:
- A separate ticket for the onward leg does not stop you being a "passenger in transit" and meeting family who are travelling on with you does not break the exception either (though meeting friends/family for any other reason likely would).
- A named storm shutting an airport is genuinely exceptional, and you do not have to abandon your checked luggage or chase speculative flights to prove you intended to leave as soon as you could.
Why this matters for SMEs and mobile employees:
- The Statutory Residence Test counts every midnight in the UK, including the night before you fly out. Get the count wrong by one day and an employee can flip from non-resident to UK-resident, with a very different tax bill.
- HMRC's own manual still says weather delays "will not" count as exceptional. However, the decision in this case says otherwise. Do not assume HMRC will apply it that way without a fight.
- If you employ people who travel through the UK for work (contractors, engineers, consultants based overseas with UK family), get their day counts and travel documentation right before the tax return goes in, not after an enquiry starts.
The practical takeaway: Keep a buffer of spare days rather than relying on exceptions, and keep the paperwork such as boarding passes, hotel receipts, evidence of onward travel, to back up any day you do need to disregard.
