In person For the v Respondent — 2021

At an open preliminary hearing on 7 September 2021 before Employment Judge O Segal QC, the tribunal decided whether Mrs P Waller was disabled within the meaning of section 6 Equality Act 2010. The condition relied on was depression/anxiety disorder. The respondent did not dispute the claimant's account of her symptoms from November 2018 onwards, and the tribunal heard oral evidence from the claimant together with medical records and other documents.

Applying the statutory definition and the authorities it cited, including Goodwin v Patent Office, J v DLA Piper UK LLP, Cruickshank v Vaw Motorcast Ltd, McNicol v Balfour Beatty Rail Maintenance Ltd, Rugamer v Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd, Rayner v Turning Point and Nissa, the tribunal found that the claimant had a mental impairment and that it produced substantial adverse effects on normal day-to-day activities. By March 2019 at the latest, she was having difficulty understanding and retaining what people said to her, including at work, and her interactions with others were becoming increasingly problematic.

On long-term effect, the tribunal concluded that the statutory test was met from approximately May 2019. It found that the symptoms had been present continuously since November 2018, were worsening, and that it could well happen, viewed at that time and without hindsight, that the substantial adverse effects would last for at least 12 months. The judgment therefore declares that the claimant was disabled between at least May 2019 and June 2020 inclusive. No monetary remedy was determined because the hearing was confined to the preliminary disability issue.