Mrs J Thompson v Local Works Limited — 2024

This was a reserved judgment following a preliminary hearing in Leeds on the discrete issue of disability status. The claimant, Mrs J Thompson, said she was disabled by depression, anxiety and ADHD for the purposes of her complaint that the respondent discriminated against her because of something arising in consequence of disability. The tribunal identified the relevant test under section 6 and Schedule 1 of the Equality Act 2010, with substantial meaning more than minor or trivial, and it also had regard to the statutory guidance on the definition of disability.

The tribunal accepted the claimant’s evidence that she had experienced episodes of anxiety and depression since her teenage years, but found that a more severe episode began in March 2022 and continued to the date of the alleged discrimination and beyond. It accepted that the impairment affected her sleep, self-care, concentration, ability to interact with colleagues, friends and family, and her ability to carry out the physical parts of her job. It also accepted that the effects became progressively more severe, so that her husband had to take over many household tasks and she could no longer sustain a social life.

The tribunal noted that ADHD had not been medically diagnosed at the relevant time and therefore did not make a finding that she had that condition. It also noted the respondent’s point that there was no mention of depression in the medical records for a long period and that she had remained at work, apart from a week off in September 2022. However, it preferred the claimant’s evidence on the extent of the effects, accepted her explanation for not taking medication sooner, and concluded that the substantial adverse effect had lasted for more than 12 months by July 2023.

On that basis, the tribunal held that Mrs Thompson met the definition of a disabled person at the time of the alleged discrimination on 4 July 2023. No monetary remedy was addressed in this judgment, and the substantive discrimination complaint was not determined here.