Mrs G Yearwood v Department of Work and Pensions — 2020

The judgment concerned a preliminary issue: whether the claimant was disabled within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010. The claimant relied on depression and work-related stress, described in submissions as underlying clinical depression exacerbated by work-related stress. The respondent disputed that she had established a relevant impairment, a substantial adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities, or a long-term impairment.

The tribunal found that the claimant had shown a mental impairment in the form of work-related stress, supported by her account and references in her medical records. It was not satisfied that the evidence established a constant underlying medical condition of depression. The tribunal noted difficulties in the way the claimant's evidence described symptoms rather than clearly identifying affected day-to-day activities.

The tribunal was satisfied that during periods when the claimant was unfit for work because of work-related stress, the effect of the impairment was substantial. Although the effects were not constant, the tribunal found that the substantial adverse effect had recurred: there were periods of work-related stress-related absence in 2010, from about November 2013, and from around September 2017 until January 2018. It concluded that from about November 2013 the claimant was a disabled person.