Claimant v Hmrc: S/4104573/2018 — 2018

The claimant brought claims said to include unfair constructive dismissal and disability discrimination arising from benign positional vertigo. She later accepted that she did not have sufficient qualifying service for a constructive dismissal claim and withdrew that claim. The preliminary hearing therefore focused on whether she was disabled within section 6 of the Equality Act 2010.

The tribunal accepted evidence from the claimant and her GP, Dr Brown, that she had been diagnosed with benign positional vertigo many years earlier and that the condition was chronic and liable to recur. It found that she experienced symptoms such as headache, dizziness and nausea, and that certain movements and activities could trigger flare-ups. The tribunal also accepted that, during flare-ups, the condition could leave a sufferer completely incapacitated and unable to do anything other than lie still.

Applying section 6 of the Equality Act 2010, together with Schedule 1 and the disability guidance, the tribunal held that the impairment had a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the claimant's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. It found that the claimant's condition was likely to recur, and that the periods of complete incapacity were sufficient to meet the statutory threshold. The tribunal accordingly decided that she was disabled at the relevant time and directed that the matter should proceed to a further preliminary hearing on case management.