In person (with an interpreter: Polish) For the v Respondent — 2024

At a public preliminary hearing on 18 June 2024, Employment Judge Alliott considered whether Mr Rafal Nowak was a disabled person for the purposes of s.6 Equality Act 2010 by reason of PTSD, a leg injury arising from an open fracture of his left tibia and fibula, or both together. The claimant had been employed as a Warehouse Operator and had brought claims of disability discrimination and unlawful deduction of wages. The tribunal also recorded that no application had been made to amend the claim to add race discrimination.

On the physical impairment, the tribunal accepted that the open fracture was a serious injury and that it had a substantial adverse effect in the short term on walking, bathing, dressing, preparing meals and shopping. However, the claimant was 33 at the relevant time and the tribunal found that the expectation then was that he would make a full recovery well within 12 months. It therefore held that the long-term limb of the disability definition in Schedule 1 was not met, and that he was not disabled by reason of the leg injury.

On the mental impairment issue, the tribunal found that PTSD was diagnosed in April 2024, but the relevant question was whether the claimant had the impairment, and substantial adverse effects from it, before 4 October 2023. It noted some GP entries in July and August 2023 referring to depression, mental health review, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, but found the medical evidence incomplete and the claimant's account insufficient to show a mental impairment with substantial adverse effects before the relevant date. The tribunal also found that, even if depression had amounted to an impairment, it was not likely to last more than 12 months.

The tribunal therefore concluded that the claimant was not a disabled person at the relevant time by reason of either the leg injury or a mental impairment. No award was made at this hearing. The separate unlawful deduction of wages claim was not determined and was listed for a full merits hearing on 4 September 2024.