Mr Antonio Onofrio v Represented by:10 Mr B McKinlay - Solicitor Irvine Healthcare Ltd — 2024

This was a public preliminary hearing to decide whether Mr Antonio Onofrio was disabled for the purposes of section 6 Equality Act 2010 during the relevant period from his first absence on 17 April 2023 to 8 August 2023. The tribunal accepted that he suffered from irritable bowel syndrome, which he had had for many years, and found that it had a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his day-to-day activities. The tribunal relied on evidence that he experienced daily symptoms, regular flare ups, frequent trips to the bathroom, difficulty socialising, anxiety about reaching a bathroom in time, and the need to manage the condition through medication, diet, and avoiding stress.

The tribunal rejected the respondent’s submission that the IBS effects were not substantial because some medical records described him as otherwise well, and it held that treatment and management measures did not negate disability status. It also found that, although abdominal pain and diarrhoea in late July and early August 2023 were said to have been exacerbated by antibiotics, Mr Onofrio did not need to prove those episodes were the sole cause of his disability. On the evidence, the tribunal was satisfied that the IBS impairment met the section 6 test at the time of the events in issue.

By contrast, the tribunal found that Mr Onofrio’s back issues did not amount to a disability at the material time. It accepted that he had back pain from around 7 April 2023 until 5 May 2023, with difficulty carrying heavy objects, difficulty walking, inability to drive, and a short period off work. The tribunal found those effects were substantial for that period, but it was not satisfied that they were long-term or that there was evidence of likely recurrence. No monetary remedy was awarded because the hearing was limited to the preliminary issue of disability status.