Claimant v The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis — 2020

The Tribunal considered whether the Claimant, a serving Detective Constable, was disabled by a mental impairment before 19 January 2019. The Respondent accepted disability from 19 January 2019 but disputed the earlier period. The Claimant relied on mixed anxiety and depressive disorder, work-related stress and grief reaction following the bereavement of a close friend.

The Tribunal found that from mid-August to October or November 2016 the Claimant had symptoms including insomnia, lack of concentration, breathlessness and tearfulness that had a substantial adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities, including communication and concentration at work. It did not find sufficient evidence that those effects continued between November 2016 and July 2017, but found that the symptoms recurred by 30 August 2017 and continued to have the prescribed effect through to January 2018.

Applying the provisions on recurring effects, the Tribunal found that the Claimant had the same underlying mental impairment from August 2016 onwards and that the adverse effects recurred beyond 12 months after their first occurrence. It concluded that the effects became long-term on 15 August 2017, and that the Claimant was disabled within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010 at all material times from that date.