Mrs N Pilgrim v Herefordshire & Worcestershire Health & Care NHS Trust — 2024

The tribunal held that Mrs N Pilgrim was a disabled person within section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 by reason of anxiety and depression from 19 February 2018. It found that her symptoms began in late 2017, were more than minor or trivial, and had a long-term effect by February 2018. The finding was based on GP records, sickness absence records, counselling and psychology evidence, and the tribunal accepted that periods of improvement on Amitriptyline and Sertraline did not mean the impairment had ceased.

The ET1 ticked boxes for unfair dismissal, race discrimination, disability discrimination and arrears of pay, but the particulars box said "see attached" and no attachment was filed. Applying the amendment authorities, including Selkent, Cocking, Galilee, Mechkarov and Parry, the tribunal allowed amendment to add disability discrimination allegations about sickness absence management, the ill-health retirement process and dismissal, and allowed the injury allowance pay claim. It refused the standalone disability allegation about a lack of support forums, the race discrimination allegations, and the whistleblowing victimisation and automatic unfair dismissal allegations, taking into account the age of the matters, the lack of particulars and the time-limit position.

Any race discrimination complaint already in the ET1 was dismissed because it was entirely unparticularised. The judgment did not finally determine the ordinary unfair dismissal claim or the amended disability discrimination and unlawful deduction claims, which were left to be listed for a final hearing.