Ms E. Odogwu v Surrey County Council PUBLIC PRELIMINARY HEARING — 2023

At a public preliminary hearing in Reading on 7 June 2023, Employment Judge Chudleigh, sitting alone, determined whether Ms E. Odogwu was disabled within the meaning of s.6 Equality Act 2010 by reason of anaemia and dyslexia. The respondent accepted that her idiopathic intracranial hypertension, partial sight, long Covid and other conditions identified in the judgment were disabilities at the material times. The claimant gave evidence and the tribunal found her to be a reliable witness.

On anaemia, the tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence that during menstruation she experienced heart palpitations, used a coping mechanism of largely staying at home for up to two to three days to avoid fainting, and was unable to drive or walk long distances because she needed to stop regularly to use a toilet to avoid leakages. Although the claimant contracted Covid in June 2021 and there was some overlap with long Covid symptoms, the tribunal found that anaemia had been diagnosed in 2019 and, on its own, had a substantial effect on her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

On dyslexia, the tribunal relied on an independent educational psychologist's report from 2009 recording processing difficulties and difficulty drawing inferences from text unless it was read several times. It found that the claimant needed more time to read and re-read documents, which affected concentration and itself had a substantial effect on normal day-to-day activities. The tribunal also found an interplay between dyslexia and the claimant's visual impairment and concluded that dyslexia was a disability, especially when considered alongside that impairment. No monetary remedy was determined at this hearing.