Ms Suzanne Parkus v London Borough of Barnet RECORD OF PUBLIC PRELIMINARY HEARING — 2025

At a public preliminary hearing in Watford on 11 and 12 February 2025, Employment Judge Alliott determined the preliminary issue of whether Ms Suzanne Parkus was disabled within the meaning of section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 between 31 May 2022 and 3 May 2024. The tribunal heard evidence from the claimant and from Mr Mihalis Koumi, had a 715-page bundle including a disability impact statement and extensive medical records, and applied section 6, Schedule 1 paragraph 2, Schedule 1 paragraph 5, and the EHRC Code of Practice on Employment and related guidance on disability.

The tribunal found that the claimant had the physical impairment of hypermobility with a probable diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, intervertebral disc bulge/degenerative spondylitis/back pain, head trauma/neurological overstimulation causing light and noise sensitivity, chronic fatigue syndrome, and low blood pressure/anaemia. It also found that she had a mental impairment of stress, caused at least in part by the neurological overstimulation, chronic fatigue syndrome, and low blood pressure/anaemia.

On the claimant's evidence, those impairments had significant adverse effects on normal day-to-day activities, including lifting and carrying, sitting and standing for long periods, writing and typing, cooking and preparing food, driving for long periods, sleep, concentration, fatigue, and sensitivity to light and noise, together with dizziness and nausea. The judge took a holistic approach because of overlap between the impairments, found that all of the claimant's disabilities had a significant adverse effect on day-to-day activities, and concluded that she was disabled at all relevant times. The judgment expressly made no findings at this stage about how the limitations were manifested at work or about respondent knowledge, which were left for the final merits hearing.