Case 6000543/2024 · Employment Tribunal
Miss N Reekie v Dignity Funerals Ltd RECORD OF A PRELIMINARY HEARING Heard: By CVP — 2025
- Case reference
- 6000543/2024
- Decision date
- 26 July 2025
- Jurisdiction
- England & Wales
- Judge
- Employment Judge Craft Appearances
Parties
2 namedClaimant
Miss N Reekie
Key findings
Tribunal's reasoningThe preliminary hearing on 15 April 2025 was to decide whether Miss Reekie was disabled within the meaning of s.6 EqA 2010 by reason of anxiety and depression. The tribunal had the claimant's impact statements, fit notes, GP consultation notes and a GP surgery letter. It made no findings on the alleged conduct itself, because this hearing was confined to disability status.
The tribunal found that the claimant's father was admitted to hospital on 6 September 2023, later diagnosed with a terminal illness, and died on 18 September 2023. The claimant was signed off work from 10 October 2023 for stress related to bereavement, took sertraline, and returned to work on 20 November 2023 after a week of holiday. The return-to-work form recorded stress due to unexpected bereavement, no work-related factors, no restrictions or adjustments, and no limitation on her normal duties.
After 27 November 2023 the claimant remained absent from work and the medical evidence referred to stress-related problems, work-related stress, anxiety and panic, and concern about a possible return to work and tribunal proceedings. The tribunal accepted that she had experienced stress and anxiety, but held that the evidence did not show an underlying mental impairment with a substantial and long-term adverse effect on day-to-day activities, or one likely to last or recur for 12 months. It noted that stress is not of itself an impairment, that she returned to work without restriction, and that the claimant had not provided particularised evidence of substantial adverse effects on ordinary daily activities.
On that basis the tribunal held that Miss Reekie was not disabled at any material time. Her claims of direct disability discrimination, discrimination arising from disability, and failure to make reasonable adjustments were dismissed. The reserved judgment stated that the unfair dismissal claim was not affected and would proceed to a final hearing before a judge alone.
Claims and outcomes
3 findings recorded| Claim type | Issue or finding | Outcome | Protected characteristic | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disability discrimination | Direct disability discrimination (s.13 EqA 2010); dismissed because the tribunal found the claimant was not disabled at the material times. | Dismissed | Disability | — |
| Disability discrimination | Discrimination arising from disability (s.15 EqA 2010); dismissed because the tribunal found the claimant was not disabled at the material times. | Dismissed | Disability | — |
| Disability discrimination | Failure to make reasonable adjustments (s.20/21 EqA 2010); dismissed because the tribunal found the claimant was not disabled at the material times and recorded no limits, restrictions or adjustments on her return to work. | Dismissed | Disability | — |
Legal tests applied
5 references- s.6 EqA 2010
- Sch.1 para 2 EqA 2010
- Sch.1 para 5 EqA 2010
- Statutory Guidance section C
- para C4
Official outcome judgment PDF
Gov.uk primary recordThe official judgment PDF on gov.uk contains the tribunal's outcome, reasoning, and any remedy details. Where this page does not yet show extracted outcomes for every claim, use the PDF as the authoritative source.
Published on gov.uk under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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