Mr C McArthur v Represented by:10 Ms L Simpson - Solicitor Houlihan Pharmacy Ltd — 2023

This was a preliminary hearing in a case pleaded as unfair dismissal and discrimination arising from disability. The tribunal heard evidence from Mr C McArthur and from the respondent’s Operations Manager, Mr Rodney Haugh. It found Mr McArthur to be a wholly credible and reliable witness, and accepted the claimant’s medical records and GP evidence as consistent with his account.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant had COPD and depression, both of which were long-standing impairments. In relation to COPD, it found that the condition caused breathlessness, vulnerability to chest infections, and difficulty with walking short distances and climbing stairs. In relation to depression, it found symptoms including low mood, racing thoughts, poor concentration, poor motivation, dark thoughts and suicidal ideation when medication had been stopped, with a worsening episode in May 2022.

Applying section 6 of the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 1 paragraphs 2 and 5, the Guidance, and the four questions identified in Goodwin v Patent Office [1999] IRLR 4, the tribunal held that both conditions had a substantial long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities. It noted that medication reduced the effects, but that without treatment the effects would be very substantially worse. It also said that the cause of the depression was not relevant to the disability question.

The tribunal concluded that Mr McArthur was a disabled person by reason of both depression and COPD at the relevant time, identified as 2 February 2022 to 22 July 2022. It recorded that the unfair dismissal claim was unaffected by that decision and would proceed to the final hearing. No remedy was decided in this judgment.