Mr Geen (Next friend) For the v Mr B Harrington (Solicitor) — 2023

This was a public preliminary hearing to decide whether the claimant was disabled for the purposes of his disability discrimination claim. The claimant had presented claims for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination, and the tribunal noted that the disability case appeared to be a narrow claim for a failure to make reasonable adjustments under s.21 Equality Act 2010. The material time had been identified as 1 June 2022 to 7 November 2022.

The tribunal accepted medical evidence showing that the claimant was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in December 2022, together with later medical reports and an impact statement. It also considered evidence that the claimant had a sick note dated 3 August 2022 for anxiety and that he was first prescribed Fluoxetine in early August 2022. The claimant gave oral evidence that he had been experiencing the condition throughout at least the material period, and the tribunal found that evidence convincing.

The tribunal rejected the respondent's submission that the absence of a diagnosis during the material period meant the disability test was not met. It held that the later diagnosis did not prevent a finding that the claimant had been suffering from the condition during the relevant period, which included the incident on 18 September 2022 said to have led to dismissal. The tribunal was satisfied that the section 6 Equality Act 2010 test was met and that the claimant was disabled by reason of depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder during the material time.

The judgment resolved only the disability-status issue. It did not determine the merits of the substantive discrimination or unfair dismissal claims, which were left to proceed to the listed full merits hearing.