Mr J Drozdowicz v TIMET UK Limited — 2024

Employment Judge Kelly sat alone and determined a preliminary issue only: whether Mr J Drozdowicz had a disability within s.6 Equality Act 2010 during August to October 2022. The condition relied on was chronic anal fissure and haemorrhoids. The respondent accepted that he had a physical impairment but disputed that it was long-term or that it had a substantial adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities.

The tribunal preferred the medical evidence showing an ongoing condition from at least October 2018, including procedures in 2019, a consultant surgeon's description of a 'difficult situation' in December 2019, a 2020 GP referral noting persistent symptoms, and later private treatment in Poland in 2022. It treated the improvements after treatment as remission following measures taken to treat the condition, not as the end of the impairment, and found that by June 2022 it was still likely to recur and would, without treatment, have had a substantial adverse effect.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant had to spend longer on the toilet, use it more frequently, manage pain and bleeding, avoid some social activities, and had difficulty arriving at work on time and concentrating at work. It accepted that he suffered depression and anxiety due to the condition. It gave little weight to inconsistent GP record entries marked 'minor' or 'ended', and said the July 2022 occupational health view that he was fit for work did not undermine the conclusion. The tribunal therefore found that he had a disability under the Equality Act 2010 during the relevant period by reason of chronic anal fissure and haemorrhoids.