Mrs S J Ellis v Clayesmore School Limited — 2022

At a preliminary hearing on 14 January 2022, the tribunal determined whether Mrs Ellis was a disabled person under section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 during the relevant period of 31 January 2020 to 16 October 2020. It accepted that she experienced symptoms including lack of concentration, memory difficulties, disrupted sleep, tiredness, low mood and agitation, and found that the cumulative impact amounted to a mental impairment.

The tribunal also found that the impairment had an adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities and that the effect was substantial. It relied on evidence that household tasks became difficult, routine matters were forgotten or left incomplete, social activities were avoided, and the claimant became more reliant on her husband, with the tribunal treating those effects as more than minor or trivial.

The claim failed on the long-term element. The tribunal noted there was no formal medical prognosis that the effects would last 12 months, relied on the claimant's evidence that her condition improved from June 2020 and that she felt ready to return on a phased basis, and accepted Dr Jigau's occupational health opinion of 14 September 2020 that there was good recovery, no need for regular medication, and no clear persistent impact on daily activities. It concluded that the effects were not likely to last beyond 12 months, so Mrs Ellis was not disabled for the purposes of the Act and the Equality Act 2010 claims were dismissed. The unfair dismissal claim was listed for a further case management hearing and was not determined at this hearing.