Ms S Begum v Slough Borough Council and 1 other — 2021

At this reserved hearing the tribunal dealt with preliminary matters only. It removed Mr M Jarrett as a respondent under rule 34 and dismissed the claims against him, because the pleaded claim form contained no adequate allegation against him and the first respondent accepted it would be vicariously liable for any unlawful act on his part. No monetary remedy was determined in this judgment.

The tribunal then considered whether Ms S Begum was a disabled person for the purposes of s6 Equality Act 2010. It accepted that she had a mental impairment, initially anxiety and depression from around 4 May 2020 and later PTSD, but found that before May 2020 the effects were not substantial. The tribunal relied on medical evidence recording sick leave, antidepressant and other medication, sleep disturbance, low mood, poor appetite, panic attacks, flashbacks, intrusive dreams and severe PHQ9/GAD7 scores.

Applying the statutory definition and the authorities it cited, the tribunal held that from 25 June 2020 the impairment had a substantial and long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities. It found that by that date the effects were likely to last at least 12 months, and accordingly held that the claimant was disabled from 25 June 2020 until her dismissal on 11 June 2021. The substantive unfair dismissal and disability discrimination claims were not finally determined in this judgment.