Mr N Buxton v MPV Packaging Limited and 1 other — 2020

This was a preliminary hearing on whether Mr Buxton was disabled for the purposes of section 6 Equality Act 2010. The tribunal sat without lay members. It considered the claimant’s oral evidence, his medical notes, later disclosed historic records, and minutes of a welfare meeting on 7 June 2019. The tribunal noted that a GP report commissioned by the respondent had not been produced, but it had the respondent’s letter of instruction and the medical records. It found a diagnosis of adjustment disorder in 2015, references to anti-depressant medication and counselling, and no diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Applying section 6 Equality Act 2010 and Schedule 1 paragraph 2, and referring to the “could well happen” approach in SCA Packaging Ltd v Boyle and to J v DLA Piper UK LLP, the tribunal held that the claimant did have a mental impairment and that, during some periods, that impairment had a substantial adverse effect on day-to-day activities such as sleep, appetite, motivation and self-care. It did not accept the claimant’s evidence that he had suffered depression since childhood, and it found his account of the severity of his symptoms was overstated in places and inconsistent with the medical records.

The tribunal found that in October 2018 the claimant had been medication-free for about a year, was attending work regularly, and was not then disabled because the condition was not long term. When he commenced sick leave in February 2019, the tribunal accepted that his symptoms then adversely affected his day-to-day activities, but it considered it speculative on the material then available to say they would last 12 months or more. By 7 June 2019, however, the medical records showed no improvement and some deterioration, including increased medication, so the tribunal found that by no later than that date the condition could well last for 12 months or more and the claimant satisfied the definition of disability.