Mr A Magee, Counsel. For the v Mr A Palmer, Managing Director. — 2019

At the preliminary hearing on 9 December 2019, the claimant had already withdrawn her unfair dismissal complaint because she had not accrued two years' service. The respondent continued to dispute whether she was disabled within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010, so the hearing focused only on that issue. The tribunal heard evidence from the claimant and from Rachael Dance for the respondent, and considered the report of Dr Konstantinos Loumidis, which did not diagnose a formal mental disorder but accepted a long history of psychological symptoms.

The tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence that she had experienced anxiety since about age 17, that it had been treated with Sertraline since 2015, and that even with medication it affected day-to-day activities. The findings recorded panic attacks, shortness of breath, feeling sick, uncontrollable worry, headaches, tightness in the chest, sweating, sleep problems, difficulty eating, difficulty leaving the house, problems with public transport, and anxiety about unfamiliar places and social situations. The tribunal also accepted that without medication her functioning would be more limited.

Applying section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 and Schedule 1, including the treatment provision, the tribunal held that the claimant had a mental impairment with a substantial and long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities. It rejected the respondent's reliance on the expert report as determinative, saying that the legal question was for the tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the claimant fell within the statutory definition of disability and that her disability discrimination claims would continue. A full merits hearing was to be listed for June to September 2020.