Mr B Cochrane v The Moray Council — 2019

This was a preliminary hearing in which Employment Judge Hendry determined whether Mr B Cochrane was a disabled person for the purposes of section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 during January and February 2019. The tribunal heard evidence from the claimant and considered medical records, specialist spinal clinic material, occupational health evidence, and a later GP report. It accepted that the claimant had longstanding thoracic/back pain, had been under investigation and treatment in 2018, and had been taking strong analgesic medication for years.

The tribunal found the claimant was not a fully persuasive witness and noted inconsistencies about the original cause of the injury and about why he had left work in the care sector. It nevertheless accepted that parts of his evidence were supported by medical material. In particular, it treated the absence of a confirmed organic cause on x-ray or MRI as not निर्णative, and it gave little weight to the physiotherapy note said to record that he was relatively pain free because the note was unexplained and the author did not speak to it.

Applying section 6 of the Equality Act 2010, the statutory definition of substantial adverse effect, and the long-term effects provisions in Schedule 1, the tribunal held that the claimant had a physical impairment with a substantial and long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities. It accepted that his condition affected sitting, sleeping, bending and stooping, and that he required ongoing strong medication to manage the pain. The tribunal therefore found that he was disabled during the relevant period.