Mr Trevor Averre-Beeson v Ortu Federation Limited and 1 other — 2022

At a preliminary hearing on 14 January 2022, Employment Judge Barrowclough determined only whether Mr Trevor Averre-Beeson was disabled within s.6 Equality Act 2010 by reason of severe asthma during the material period. The tribunal identified the material time as 1 August 2020 to 31 December 2020. It did not decide the substantive liability issues on the discrimination complaints at this hearing, but held that the complaints under ss.15 and 20 Equality Act 2010 would proceed to the full merits hearing.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant had suffered from severe asthma since about 1979, used inhalers daily, had been hospitalised with pneumonia in 2015, and experienced flare-ups that affected activities such as walking fast, walking uphill, and climbing stairs. It relied on the medical records and Dr Peck’s 17 August 2020 letter, including the evidence that he was in the "extremely vulnerable" Covid-19 category, and found that the absence of an expert medical report was not fatal. Applying s.6 Equality Act 2010 and the approach in Goodwin v The Patent Office, the tribunal concluded that the impairment had a substantial and long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities and that Mr Averre-Beeson was disabled at the material time.