Mrs L Simon v Manorview Hotels Limited — 2024

This was an open preliminary hearing in a disability discrimination case. The tribunal did not decide the substantive discrimination complaints. It decided only whether Mrs L Simon was a disabled person at the relevant time, which the parties agreed was June to September 2023. The claimant relied on fibromyalgia and perimenopause; she no longer relied on asthma. The tribunal accepted that fibromyalgia had been diagnosed in 2011 and that she had been diagnosed as perimenopausal in May 2021.

The tribunal found that both conditions were impairments within section 6 of the Equality Act 2010. It accepted that fibromyalgia was a permanent condition causing body pain, fatigue and cognitive issues, with flare-ups a couple of times a year, and that perimenopause was a temporary condition lasting a number of years and causing similar symptoms together with low mood and anxiety. It found that, during flare-ups, the claimant had difficulty sleeping, walking, standing, sitting, concentrating, remembering information and making decisions, particularly at work, and that these activities were normal day-to-day activities.

Applying the disability definition, the tribunal held that the adverse effect was substantial because the claimant could walk only for limited periods, stand for limited periods, sit for limited periods, and had difficulty with concentration, memory and decision-making, sometimes requiring time off work. It also held that the effect was long term because the flare-ups had lasted and were likely to last or recur for at least 12 months. The tribunal concluded that the claimant was disabled at the relevant time.