Adam Watson v National Tube Straightening Services Limited — 2024

Adam Watson brought claims of unfair dismissal and disability discrimination against National Tube Straightening Services Limited. The unfair dismissal claim had already been struck out by Employment Judge Livesey on 14 August 2023 because the claimant lacked continuity of employment. The final hearing before Employment Judge Salter at Bristol on 10 May 2024 therefore proceeded on the disability issue, with the respondent accepting that the claimant had been an employee and had been dismissed but disputing that he was disabled within the Equality Act 2010.

The tribunal treated the matter as a preliminary issue under s6 Equality Act 2010 and referred to the burden on the claimant, the four constituent elements of disability, the 2011 Guidance, Goodwin v Patent Office, Elliott v Dorset County Council, and McNicol v Balfour Beatty Rail Maintenance Ltd. The claimant relied on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and said his fatigue had existed for years, with references in his GP records and in his disability impact statements. The respondent submitted that there was no clear diagnosis, no clear medical evidence linking any impairment to substantial adverse effects, and little evidence of impact on day-to-day activities.

The tribunal found there was no formal diagnosis of CFS and that the high point of the medical evidence was a 2018 GP note referring to '? Cfs'. It noted that there were no GP visits about the condition for a number of years, that tests were inconclusive, and that during his employment the claimant had no attendance or performance problems. It also relied on the claimant's active work and private life, including organising and taking part in a reenactment society and doing physical work before joining the respondent. On that evidence, the tribunal was not satisfied that the claimant had proved an underlying impairment, whether CFS or otherwise, and held that he was not disabled at the relevant time. The disability discrimination claim therefore failed.