University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust

Case Summary

An EAT appeal concerning time limit issues in an unfair dismissal and disability discrimination case. The appellant was dismissed on 8 June 2022 and presented claims on 10 and 12 January 2023, almost four months out of time. The appellant argued the Tribunal erred by not considering her internal appeal process as a factor in the delay or as a potentially discriminatory act. The EAT dismissed the appeal on the basis that neither issue had been raised before the Employment Tribunal.

The appeal was dismissed because the two grounds of appeal raised issues that had never been presented to the Employment Tribunal. The appellant did not give evidence that the internal appeal caused delay in bringing claims, and did not contend that the refusal of the appeal was itself discriminatory. The Tribunal could not be said to have erred in law by failing to consider matters that were never raised before it.

• •Whether the Tribunal erred in failing to consider the relevance of the appellant's internal appeal to time limits for unfair dismissal claims
• •Whether the Tribunal erred in failing to consider whether the refusal of the internal appeal was itself an act of discrimination forming part of a continuing course of conduct

Judgment approved by the court for handing down Ndow v University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust © EAT 2026 1 [2026] EAT 64 Neutral Citation Number: [2026] EAT 64 Case No: EA-2024-000030-JPD EMPLOYMENT APPEAL TRIBUNAL Rolls Building Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1NL Date: 30 April 2026 Before: THE HON. LORD FAIRLEY, PRESIDENT - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Between: MISS A NDOW Appellant - and - UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS BIRMINGHAM NHS FOUNDATION TRUST Respondent - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Miss A Ndow, the Appellant, in person Mr K Zaman (instructed by Hill Dickinson LLP) for the Respondent Hearing date: 23 April 2026 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - JUDGMENT Judgment approved by the court for handing down Ndow v University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust © EAT 2026 2 [2026] EAT 64 SUMMARY Unfair dismissal; disability discrimination; time limits The appellant was employed by the respondent as a health care assistant from 4 July 2009 to 8 June 2022. She was dismissed on 8 June 2022 following an absence management procedure in which the respondent concluded that she was not medically fit to continue in her role. The appellant appealed against her dismissal on 22 June 2022. She attended an internal appeal hearing on 18 November 2022. On 19 November 2022 she was advised that her appeal had been refused. The appellant then presented ET1 claim forms on 10 and 12 January 2023 in which she complained of unfair dismissal (ordinary and automatic) and disability discrimination. The claims were resisted, inter alia on the basis that they had each been presented out of time. Following a preliminary hearing, the Tribunal concluded that (a) the unfair dismissal complaints had been presented almost four months after the primary time limit in section 111(2) of the Employment Rights A…