In person For the v Mrs L Lewis, Solicitor — 2023

At a public preliminary hearing by CVP on 2 October 2023, Employment Judge M Warren determined only the preliminary disability issue in Mr Robert Warner's case against Movianto UK Limited. The tribunal set out the Equality Act 2010 definition of disability and the burden on the claimant to prove that definition at the material time.

The judge accepted Mr Warner as a credible witness and relied on the medical material before the tribunal, including a letter from Dr Selby, a letter from Consultant Physician Dr Fowler and a GP patient summary. The evidence recorded spinal surgery, renal surgery, COPD and emphysema, long-standing anxiety and depressive disorder entries, and ongoing surveillance for an adrenal adenoma/tumour. Mr Warner's evidence was that his back condition caused daily pain, difficulty standing and sitting, disturbed sleep and a severe episode of pain in January 2022; his respiratory condition caused breathlessness and exhaustion; and the adrenal condition and associated stress caused worry and exhaustion.

Applying the statutory definition in section 6 Equality Act 2010 and the concepts of substantial and long-term effect, the tribunal found that by the time of his employment with the respondent the relevant impairments had lasted more than 12 months and had a substantial adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities. It found that the combined effect of the back condition, respiratory issues, adrenal tumour secretion and stress met the statutory test, and concluded that Mr Warner was a disabled person at the material time. No monetary award was made and case management was to be dealt with separately.