Ms K J M Senff v Represented by: Mr J Lawson - Solicitor Halfords Autocentres Limited — 2025

This was a preliminary hearing in Aberdeen on 7 and 8 July 2025. The tribunal considered only whether Ms Senff met the definition of disability for Equality Act purposes, against the background of pleaded disability discrimination claims. It held that she had a disability within section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 by reason of chronic colitis and/or an undiagnosed bowel or gastric problem during the relevant period from 30 October 2023 to 12 January 2024, and that her disability-based complaints would proceed to final hearing. No liability or remedy was decided in this judgment.

The tribunal accepted the claimant as a candid and credible witness. It found a history of recurrent lower abdominal pain from the age of 10, with the symptoms becoming more frequent and severe by late 2022 or early 2023. By that stage she was experiencing urgent toilet needs, faecal incontinence, weight loss, avoidance of eating and socialising, and anxiety about toilet access. The tribunal also accepted the medical evidence showing hospital admission on 10 October 2023 with acute and chronic colitis, and a gastroenterology review on 4 December 2023 when investigations were still ongoing.

The respondent pointed to gaps in the medical record and a September 2023 diagnosis of a urinary tract infection, but the tribunal did not accept that those matters showed the symptoms had ceased. It found that the claimant remained under investigation, that the condition had continued, and that the evidence supported ongoing abdominal pain, incontinence, disrupted sleep, restricted mobility, and difficulty with work and daily life. It therefore concluded that the impairment had a substantial effect on normal day-to-day activities and that the effect was long-term because it had been substantial from early 2023 and was likely to continue.