In person For the v Respondent — 2022

At a remote preliminary hearing on 11 March 2022, Employment Judge N J Roper determined only whether Mrs Mandy Aire was a disabled person at the material times. The underlying dispute concerned the respondent's criticism of her refusal to wear the face masks or coverings it required during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the claimant's case was that she was exempt because of claustrophobia. The respondent disputed that she had a disability.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant had a mental impairment, described as claustrophobia or anxiety arising from claustrophobia, which had lasted throughout her life and had a substantial adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities. It relied on the claimant's evidence, her impact statement, the limited GP notes, and Dr Carty's letter dated 3 November 2021, notwithstanding some inconsistencies and the evidence that she could wear some kinds of masks in some settings. The tribunal therefore found that she was a disabled person within section 6 and Schedule 1 of the Equality Act 2010 during the material times. This judgment did not decide the substantive Equality Act complaints or any remedy.