Ms F Mochar-Collins v Represented by: Mr D Long - Solicitor Manpower UK Limited — 2020

Ms F Mochar-Collins worked for Manpower UK Ltd as a call adviser placed with BT from 20 November 2017 until 23 May 2019. The only issue decided in this judgment was whether she was a disabled person within section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 during that employment. The tribunal heard evidence from the claimant and documentary evidence including GP records, fit notes and correspondence about reasonable adjustments; the respondent led no evidence. The tribunal accepted the claimant as a reliable and credible witness.

The tribunal found that the claimant had a history of migraines or cluster headaches dating back to 2004, with attacks occurring on average weekly to fortnightly despite medication. It accepted evidence that attacks involved nausea, severe head pain, light and noise sensitivity, inability to concentrate, and retreating to a darkened quiet room for several hours. It also accepted that stress was a trigger and that the claimant could not avoid all triggers. The tribunal rejected the suggestion that the absence of a specialist referral meant the condition was not disabling, and it treated references in fit notes to "migraine plus stress" as reflecting the underlying condition and a trigger rather than separate unrelated conditions.

Applying section 6 Equality Act 2010, the statutory Guidance, and the approach in J v DLA Piper UK LLP, Goodwin v Patent Office and McNicol v Balfour Beatty Rail Maintenance Ltd, the tribunal held that the claimant had a physical or mental impairment with a substantial and long-term adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities. It found that the migraines were recurrent, that medication controlled but did not eradicate them, and that the effects were likely to recur. The judgment therefore concluded that the claimant had a qualifying disability, namely migraine, during the relevant period of employment.