Mr Ali Askor v EE Limited — 2020

This was a preliminary hearing to decide whether the Claimant's congenital heart disease, described as VSD and connected heart condition, amounted to a disability under section 6 of the Equality Act 2010. The Claimant relied on discrimination claims under sections 15, 20, 21 and 26, and the agreed issue was whether the VSD/Heart condition was a statutory disability.

The tribunal accepted that the Claimant had a physical impairment, including residual effects of the repaired VSD and a right bundle branch block. It also accepted that the Claimant experienced breathlessness on exertion, including when climbing stairs, attending the gym and playing amateur sport, and that those effects would have been more than minor or trivial if caused by the pleaded impairment.

The tribunal found there was no evidence linking the breathlessness, stress in high-pressure situations, sleep issues, diet restrictions, or fainting to the VSD/Heart condition. The available medical evidence instead recorded mild asthma as a diagnosis relevant to breathlessness. The tribunal concluded that the Claimant had not shown that the VSD/Heart condition had an adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, and therefore had not established disability under section 6. It gave the Claimant 21 days to explain why the claims should not be struck out or to withdraw them, but did not make that final strike-out decision in this judgment.