An Employment Tribunal in Belfast has dismissed an unfair dismissal claim brought by agency nurse Euore Obibi against Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, ruling that her claim was filed far outside the legal time limit and that no valid grounds existed to extend it.

Obibi had been placed with the Trust by agency Direct Health Care 24 Ltd as an agency nurse from May 2018. Her placement ended on 5 or 6 May 2022, when the Trust told her that her services were no longer required. The three-month statutory deadline for lodging an unfair dismissal complaint expired on 5 August 2022. Obibi did not contact the Labour Relations Agency for early conciliation until 29 February 2024, and she submitted her claim to the tribunal on 13 March 2024 - more than one year and seven months after the deadline.

Obibi argued that a significant decline in her mental health had impaired her ability to understand or act within the time limits, and that she had numerous hospital attendances for treatment of respiratory and eye conditions during the relevant period. She also said she had hoped for an informal resolution. She told the tribunal she had acted promptly once she became aware she could still challenge the dismissal, but was unable to say anything more specific than that this had happened at some point in 2024.

Employment Judge Bell, sitting alone, rejected those arguments. The judge found that medical records from the period covering the primary limitation window - May to August 2022 - showed Obibi was alert, orientated, and not on regular medication, and did not support a finding of consistent incapacity. The judge also noted that Obibi had a smartphone and laptop, had solicitors already instructed on related personal injury claims, had been a member of the Royal College of Nursing for approximately two months after her placement ended, had family and church support, and had been capable of corresponding by email in July 2023. The judge found that the claimant's evidence about severe mental health decline lacked specificity and was exaggerated.

The tribunal concluded that the real reason for the delay was Obibi's ignorance of her right to bring a claim and of the applicable time limits - not a medical incapacity that would have made it unreasonably impracticable to file on time. Under Article 145 of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, a claim can only be accepted outside the three-month window if it was not reasonably practicable to file in time and the claim was then brought within a reasonable further period. The tribunal found neither condition was met.

Separate complaints of racial discrimination, age discrimination, sex discrimination, public interest disclosure, and part-time working had already been dismissed on 27 May 2025 following their withdrawal by Obibi. The unfair dismissal claim was the only matter remaining for determination. With the tribunal finding it has no jurisdiction, that claim has now also been dismissed. The hearing took place in Belfast on 19 and 26 March 2026.