Case 6010790/2024 · Employment Tribunal
Dr S Zahertar v University of Southampton and 2 others — 2026
- Case reference
- 6010790/2024
- Decision date
- 11 February 2026
- Jurisdiction
- England & Wales
- Judge
- Employment Judge Dawson Appearances
Parties
4 namedClaimant
Dr S Zahertar
Key findings
Tribunal's reasoningThe judgment records that the claimant brought complaints including unfair dismissal, disability, race and sex discrimination, and victimisation. The preliminary hearing was limited to deciding whether the claimant was disabled by reason of anxiety and depression within the meaning of section 6 and Schedule 1 of the Equality Act 2010 at the material times.
The tribunal found that the claimant had a mental impairment and that, from 3 August 2023, its effect on sleep and concentration was more than minor or trivial. However, the evidence did not support a finding that, before 3 November 2023, the substantial adverse effect was likely to last at least 12 months.
The tribunal concluded that from 3 November 2023 the claimant's impairment had a substantial adverse effect on day-to-day activities and was likely to last at least 12 months, so she was disabled within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010 from that date, but not before. Disability discrimination claims based on causes of action before 3 November 2023 were dismissed.
Claims and outcomes
1 finding recorded| Claim type | Issue or finding | Outcome | Protected characteristic | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disability discrimination | Preliminary hearing on whether the claimant was disabled by reason of depression and anxiety. The tribunal dismissed any disability discrimination claim, including claims under sections 13, 15, 21 and 26 Equality Act 2010, in respect of a cause of action arising before 3 November 2023. The merits of any disability discrimination claim from 3 November 2023 onward were not determined in this judgment. | Dismissed | Disability | — |
Legal tests applied
7 references- section 6 Equality Act 2010
- Schedule 1 Equality Act 2010
- section 212(1) Equality Act 2010
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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.
How we got this data
Case essentials (reference, date, judge, venue, country, claim categories) are extracted from the structured metadata gov.uk publishes alongside each decision. Parties and monetary figures are extracted from the judgment PDF text. Key findings and per-claim outcomes require a second extraction pass that is not yet complete for this case — until then, the primary source linked above is the authoritative record. See full methodology.
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