Mrs A S Khan v Tesco Stores Ltd — 2024

The tribunal decided a preliminary issue: whether the claimant's plantar fasciitis was a disability under section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 between late 2020 and 16 January 2022. It was agreed that plantar fasciitis was a physical impairment and that its effects were long-term. The respondent had already accepted that the claimant's type 2 diabetes was a disability, but the issue in this judgment concerned plantar fasciitis.

The tribunal found that the claimant had experienced foot pain from 2019, used painkillers, moved from the F&F department to checkouts on medical advice, and avoided work requiring standing for more than an hour. It accepted that from at least February 2021 she had difficulty on waking, sleep disturbance, and continuing limits on standing. It did not accept every alleged effect as substantial, including the asserted limits on walking for only 15 minutes, sleep disturbance, waiting five to six minutes before standing on waking, or evidence about driving and travelling by car.

The tribunal concluded that the claimant's inability to stand for more than one hour, and her avoidance of work requiring that level of standing, had a substantial adverse effect on her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, including work requiring lengthy standing. It also considered the role of painkillers and shockwave therapy, but found insufficient evidence to reach reliable conclusions about the deduced effects of medication. Overall, it held that the claimant's plantar fasciitis was a disability during the relevant period.