Mrs J Williams v Newport City Council — 2021

The tribunal found that the claimant suffered from a mental impairment in the form of anxiety at the relevant times, but it was not satisfied that the impairment had a substantial adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities beyond about the end of August 2017. It accepted that the claimant had been significantly unwell from March 2017 to around late August 2017, but the medical evidence and contact notes showed improvement thereafter. The tribunal also found that court attendance was not a day-to-day activity and that, from the latter part of 2017, recurrence of the acute impact of the condition was not shown to be likely.

Because the claimant was not disabled for the purposes of section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 at the relevant times, the claims of discrimination arising from disability, indirect discrimination on the ground of disability, and failure to make reasonable adjustments all failed. The tribunal nevertheless noted that the respondent had not realistically considered whether the claimant's role could be altered so that she would not have to do viability assessments or court-related work.

The unfair dismissal claim succeeded. The tribunal accepted that the reason for dismissal was capability in the form of the claimant's perceived inability to work because of her health, but held that a reasonable employer would have waited longer before dismissing. It found that the claimant could have continued in work if court-related work were removed from her duties, that court attendance had been rare in her own role and in comparable roles, that another employee was willing to cover viability assessments and related court work, and that the claimant was due to reach retirement age in July 2020. The tribunal therefore concluded that dismissal was outside the range of reasonable responses.

The victimisation claim was not pursued at the hearing and was dismissed on withdrawal. No remedy figure was decided in this judgment; a separate remedy hearing was listed for 17 November 2021 unless the parties reached agreement.