Mr D. Warburton v Libertas Chambers and 8 others — 2024

This was a preliminary hearing in Mr D. Warburton's claim against Libertas Chambers and others. The issue was whether he was a disabled person within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010 during the material period, January to March 2023, by reason of depression, anxiety or ADHD. The tribunal heard evidence from the claimant, considered GP records, a 2020 report from Dr P. Grewal, and an earlier 2018 Employment Tribunal decision that had found the claimant disabled by depression in a different case.

The tribunal accepted that Dr Grewal had described a severe depressive episode in 2020 linked to the claimant's earlier unsuccessful search for work, and that his symptoms had improved after he began pupillage in January 2020 and continued to improve as he progressed into tenancy. It noted, however, that there was no consultation with his doctor about mental health difficulties after February 2018, and that there was little objective evidence supporting the extent of the limitations the claimant described after 2020. The tribunal also considered alternative explanations for his reduced non-work activity, including workload, parenthood, and pre-existing difficulties in social relationships.

The tribunal found that the claimant was not substantially impaired from around January 2021 until January 2023. It accepted that he became substantially impaired from about mid-January 2023, when he came under scrutiny from his head of chambers, but held that the impairment did not, viewed at that time, appear likely to last at least 12 months. The tribunal concluded that his early-2023 depressive state was a reaction to adverse events rather than a recurrence of an earlier illness, and that the evidence did not establish disability at the relevant time. The judgment records a further case management hearing listed for 25 July 2024 to consider a possible deposit order in respect of any claim.