Miss Claire Wilkinson v Coventry University Students’ Union — 2023

The hearing on 11 January 2023 was limited to a preliminary issue: whether Miss Claire Wilkinson was a disabled person at the relevant times within section 6 Equality Act 2010. The tribunal accepted that she had lifelong dyslexia and dyspraxia, that those conditions were present throughout the relevant period, and that the medical evidence from Alex Griffiths (2011) and W Russell Calderwood (2022) supported difficulties with reading, spelling, phonological processing, auditory working memory, organisation and some motor co-ordination.

Applying the Equality Act definition and the approach in Paterson and Elliott, the tribunal found that the claimant’s impairments had a substantial adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities. It accepted her evidence that reading, understanding written material, deriving information from emails and Teams messages, preparing for meetings, undergoing tests or assessments, and producing or proof-reading written work were all affected, and that she often had to re-read text, rely on assistive strategies, or take longer than others.

The respondent’s argument that coping mechanisms removed any substantial effect was rejected. The tribunal held that the strategies identified, including asking others to read and explain text, using Google Street View, Grammarly and other aids, did not eliminate the adverse effect and could break down under stress. It also found that the dyspraxia evidence contributed to the overall picture, although dyslexia was the more prominent condition. The tribunal therefore found that Miss Wilkinson was a disabled person at the relevant times; no remedy was awarded because the judgment determined only that preliminary issue.