In person For the v Mr M Nadin, Solicitor — 2023

This was a reserved judgment on a preliminary issue only: whether Mr L Neagoe was a disabled person within the meaning of s.6 Equality Act 2010 for the purposes of his disability discrimination claims. The claimant said he had depression and anxiety disorder, diagnosed in 2007, and that the condition had been aggravated during the period August 2021 to February 2022. The respondents accepted that he had an impairment but disputed that it had a substantial and long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities.

The respondents relied on the medical documents in the bundle, including a GP letter dated 16 August 2022, to argue that the evidence did not support the claimant’s account and that there were gaps in treatment and medication. They also pointed to the claimant’s induction form, his evidence about a proposed sailing trip, and the absence of any medical evidence describing a chronic mental breakdown at the time he described. The claimant disputed those points and said he had taken medication continuously, had misunderstood the induction form because of language difficulties, and that the documentary record did not fully reflect his condition.

The tribunal accepted the claimant’s evidence overall. It found that, notwithstanding some disparity between his oral and written evidence and the medical documents, he had given an accurate indication of the nature of the impairment and that the impairment was more than minor or trivial and therefore substantial. The tribunal also found that the impairment had been continuing for some time and had continued through the material period between August 2021 and February 2022.

The tribunal therefore held that Mr Neagoe was disabled by reason of depression and anxiety. It did not make any findings on knowledge and expressly stated that such findings were left for a later date. The judgment ended by directing that a further telephone preliminary hearing be listed for case management and clarification of the disability discrimination claims.