Mr A Mills v Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) — 2022

The preliminary issue was whether the claimant was disabled for the purposes of section 6 Equality Act 2010 during the relevant period of March 2020 to March 2021. The claimant relied on hypertension and anxiety/stress. The tribunal accepted that he had hypertension from January 2019, but found that he had not proved that the alleged headaches, insomnia, chest pains, palpitations, diarrhoea, reduced exercise, blurred vision, concentration or memory issues, or social effects were caused by hypertension or its treatment, or that hypertension would have had a substantial adverse effect but for treatment.

The tribunal found that the claimant experienced a stress-related illness from around the end of October 2020, with combined effects including low motivation or loss of interest in everyday activities, some difficulty with social interaction, reduced exercise, difficulty sleeping, and some loss of concentration. It found those combined effects were more than trivial from that point.

However, the tribunal concluded that the claimant had not proved that, at any point during the relevant period, the substantial adverse effects of the stress-related illness were likely to last for 12 months. It therefore held that the claimant was not disabled under section 6 Equality Act 2010 during the relevant period, and his disability discrimination claims were dismissed.