Mr P Webb v DWR Cymru Welsh Water — 2021

This was a preliminary hearing on disability status before Employment Judge A.M.S. Green. The respondent had conceded that the claimant was disabled from 22 February 2021 onwards, but disputed that he satisfied section 6 Equality Act 2010 at earlier material dates. The tribunal therefore considered whether, as at 31 July 2020 and from 29 October 2020 to 22 February 2021, the claimant had stress, depression and anxiety with a substantial adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities and whether the effect was long-term or likely to recur.

The tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence about concentration and confidence difficulties. It relied on GP records from February to August 2020 showing stress at work, antidepressant treatment, a diagnosis of depression, referral to mental health services, weight loss, poor sleep and anxiety. It also accepted evidence about the bike accident on 16 July 2020, the driving near-misses on 2 and 28 August 2020, and difficulties with socialising, shopping, going out and personal hygiene. The tribunal also had regard to the occupational health reports in May 2020 and on 5 October 2020, which recorded depression and anxiety and addressed the likely duration of the condition.

Applying the statutory definition and the Schedule 1 long-term effect provisions, the tribunal found that the claimant was suffering from stress, depression and anxiety at the relevant dates and that these conditions had a substantial adverse effect on his day-to-day life. It held that, disregarding medication, the impairment could well continue for 12 months or recur. The tribunal accepted that this was more than a reaction to workplace unhappiness and that the medical and factual evidence showed an impairment affecting normal day-to-day activities. It therefore declared the claimant disabled for the purposes of section 6(1) Equality Act 2010 at the dates identified above. No monetary remedy was determined in this preliminary judgment.