In Person For the v Mr T Woodward, Solicitor — 2022

The claimant, Dr Isabella Camburn, was employed by Celtic Equine Veterinary Practice Limited from 1 February 2020 and began actual work on 1 June 2020 after a period of furlough. She brought a disability discrimination claim based on alleged disability-related treatment connected with the extension of her probationary period on 7 August 2020 and her dismissal on 21 December 2020, relying on vestibular oscillopsia. The judgment also notes a separate contractual notice pay claim, which was to be listed for a later hearing and was not determined in this decision.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant experienced symptoms including disorientation, fatigue and visual disturbance, and that she had been absent from work and signed off on sick leave. It found that the symptoms had some impact on everyday activities such as walking, shopping and sleeping, and that the claimant had to adjust how she carried out activities and became increasingly fatigued. However, at the material times there was no clear diagnosis or prognosis, and the medical evidence available in December 2020 did not say how long the condition or its effects would last.

Applying the Equality Act 2010 definition of disability and the cited authorities, the tribunal concluded that the claimant had not proved that any substantial adverse effect was long term at either material date. It found that, on 7 August 2020 and again on 21 December 2020, there was no evidence that the condition was likely to last 12 months or for the rest of her life, and no contemporaneous evidence showing a lifelong condition with a substantial adverse effect for a further period of at least six months. The tribunal therefore held that the claimant was not a disabled person within the meaning of the Act and dismissed the disability discrimination claims. No remedy was awarded on the claims determined in this judgment.