Mrs Gillian Rabbeth v Represented by: Mr T Cooper, Trade union official Royal Mail Group Ltd — 2023

At this preliminary hearing, Employment Judge A Kemp considered two issues: whether Mrs Gillian Rabbeth was a disabled person within section 6 of the Equality Act 2010, and whether the respondent's application to strike out the claim under the Fixed Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002 should be granted. The tribunal accepted the claimant as a credible and reliable witness. It found that she had experienced menopause-related memory loss, difficulty concentrating, fatigue and poor sleep, and that she had used a notebook to prompt work tasks and other everyday activities.

On the disability issue, the tribunal held that the claimant had a mental impairment arising from the menopause and that it had an adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities which was substantial and long term. The judge treated the evidence as showing more than isolated lapses: the symptoms affected conversations, shopping, childcare, work tasks, and the reporting of the second van accident, which the claimant forgot to report for several days. The tribunal concluded that the overall effect was more than minor or trivial and that Mrs Rabbeth was therefore disabled for the purposes of section 6. The occupational health opinion that she was not covered by the Equality Act was considered, but it was not determinative.

The tribunal refused the respondent's strike-out application under Rule 37. Applying the strike-out authorities and the overriding objective, it held that the fixed-term workers issue was narrow, fact-sensitive and better left to the final hearing. The judgment records no award of compensation or other monetary remedy because no substantive liability or remedy issues were decided at this stage.