In person For the v Respondent — 2023

This was a preliminary hearing before Employment Judge Alliott sitting alone to decide whether Mr Stuart Cornish was disabled within section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 between 26 January and 31 May 2022 by reason of PTSD. The judge reviewed the claimant’s medical history, including earlier psychological treatment, a 2018 psychiatric diagnosis of PTSD, and 2019 screening reports recording avoidance, intrusive symptoms, sleep disturbance, hyperarousal and other trauma-related effects.

The tribunal accepted the claimant’s evidence, including two impact statements and oral evidence, and found that PTSD had a substantial adverse effect on ordinary day-to-day activities. The judge referred to effects on being in public, being at home with his family, going to the theatre or restaurant, watching television, socialising, walking in the park, hypersensitivity to sound, vigilance, mood swings, avoidance behaviour, sleep disturbance and nightmares. The tribunal also took account of the claimant’s six weeks off work in early 2022 and the occupational health report of 25 March 2022, which recorded a recurrence of psychological ill-health and concern about re-exposure to child sex abuse cases.

The respondent’s arguments that the effects were not sufficiently substantial or long-term, that the claimant’s coping strategies and medication meant he was not disabled, and that there was inconsistency in the alcohol references were rejected. The judge applied section 6 and Schedule 1 paragraph 2 of the Equality Act 2010, together with the Equality and Human Rights Commission Guidance on the definition of disability, including the passages on avoidance strategies and likelihood of recurrence, and found that the effects had lasted at least 12 months and were likely to continue during the material period. The judgment therefore records that the claimant was disabled within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010 by reason of PTSD at all material times.