L Sewell v Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust — 2020

This reserved judgment dealt with a preliminary issue in proceedings in which the claimant had complained of unfair dismissal and disability discrimination. The question decided was whether she was a disabled person within the meaning of section 6 Equality Act 2010 during the relevant period identified as 11 September 2018 to 12 April 2019. The tribunal held that she was, and recorded that she remained disabled beyond that date notwithstanding her limited attempt to return to work on a part-time basis in March 2019.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant had a mental impairment, namely anxiety and depression, diagnosed by her GP in April 2018. It preferred the GP evidence, including reports dated 10 October 2019 and 15 February 2020, to the evidence of the respondent's occupational health adviser, Dr Basheer, who considered the problems to be organisational rather than medical. The tribunal found the claimant to be an honest and truthful witness and accepted her evidence about low mood, anxiety, panic attacks, reduced motivation and energy, poor concentration and recall, and difficulty carrying out everyday tasks such as self-care, housework, cooking, cleaning, dealing with letters, and social activities.

Applying section 6 Equality Act 2010 and the authorities it cited, including Goodwin v Patent Office, Paterson v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, Aderemi v London & South Eastern Railway Limited, Woodrup v London Borough of Southwark, Tesco Stores Ltd v Tennant and SCA Packaging Ltd v Boyle, the tribunal concluded that the impairment had a substantial adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities and that the effect had lasted, or was likely to last, for at least 12 months. It also considered the claimant's work-related stress, the fit notes, the evidence of correspondence and attendance at meetings, and the distinction between workplace problems and medical impairment, but found that the claimant's symptoms were not limited to ordinary reactions to adverse events.