Member E Coyle Tribunal Member P Fallow Mr D Keen v Represented by: C Curran, Friend Richard Irvine FM Limited — 2023

This was a preliminary hearing at Dundee on 29 July 2024 in Mr D Keen's case against Richard Irvine FM Ltd. The tribunal dealt only with the preliminary question whether the claimant was disabled within section 6 of the Equality Act at the relevant time. It also recorded that, at the start of the hearing, Ruth Innes was excluded from the tribunal room during the disability hearing after the claimant's representative said her presence would be difficult for him.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant attempted suicide on or about 4 June 2023 and first consulted his GP on 5 June 2023. The medical records recorded low mood, the attempted hanging, and a number of external stressors, and sertraline was prescribed. The tribunal noted follow-up entries on 7 June, 3 July, 11 July, 12 July and 31 July 2023, including reports of low mood, suicidal thoughts without plans, sleep disturbance, anxiety and medication changes, and it also noted there were no further mental health appointments recorded up to and including 4 April 2024.

The tribunal did not accept the claimant's evidence that he had previously been diagnosed with anxiety and depression, or his account of the effect of his condition on day-to-day life, because it conflicted with the medical records and his own pre-employment health screening. It found there was no coherent evidence that, from July 2023 onwards, his mental health produced a substantial adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities, and no basis to say that any such effect had lasted 12 months or was likely to last 12 months by the time of dismissal. The tribunal therefore held that the claimant was not disabled at the relevant time and said the evidence and pleadings had failed to address the legal question properly.