Did not appear and was not represented For the v Respondent — 2019

The claimant did not attend the preliminary hearing on 22 August 2019, and Employment Judge Norris proceeded in his absence using the claimant's emailed medical impact statement and the GP records in the bundle. The issue was whether the claimant was a disabled person for the purposes of his disability discrimination complaints, on the evidence relevant to January to June 2018.

The tribunal found that the claimant satisfied the 'long-term' element of section 6 Equality Act 2010 because he had been prescribed anti-depressant medication for considerably more than 12 months. It did not, however, find evidence of a substantial adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities. The records referred to depression, mood fluctuation, improvement on medication, and a short period of nightmares in 2016, but the claimant had not provided a signed witness statement or other evidence showing more than a minor or trivial impact without treatment.

The tribunal also relied on the claimant's own forms, in which he described his condition as 'mild depression', said he had 'no further issues', and answered 'no' to whether he had a disability, with his GP countersigning the medical history form. On that basis, the tribunal held that he was not a disabled person at the relevant time. His complaints of direct disability discrimination and failure to make reasonable adjustments were struck out for want of jurisdiction.

The victimisation complaint was not determined at this hearing. The tribunal held that it could proceed to the full hearing, listed for 27 to 29 January 2020, and vacated 30 January 2020. It also made an unless order requiring the claimant to identify the documents said to contain the protected act by 18 September 2019.