Case 8000232/2023 · Employment Tribunal
Ms L De Matos v Ltd (In Liquidation) — 2024
- Case reference
- 8000232/2023
- Decision date
- 5 March 2024
- Jurisdiction
- Scotland
- Judge
- Employment Judge A Kemp
- Venue
- Glasgow remotely
Parties
2 namedClaimant
Ms L De Matos
Respondent
Key findings
Tribunal's reasoningThe Preliminary Hearing was fixed to decide whether the claimant was a disabled person within section 6 of the Equality Act 2010. The Tribunal found that she had physical impairments arising from a workplace accident in October 2014, including fractures to her left cheekbone, misalignment of teeth, nerve damage or neuropathy on the left side of her face, continuing pain and intermittent headaches or migraine. It also found mental impairments of depression and anxiety, diagnosed from June 2015 and April 2016 respectively.
The Tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence as credible and reliable, supported by medical records, fit notes and Occupational Health reports. It found that the impairments adversely affected normal day-to-day activities including leaving the house, interacting with others, dressing, washing, cleaning, sleeping, concentration, and working life. The Tribunal rejected the respondent's argument that the impairments had to be assessed separately and considered their combined effect.
The Tribunal held that the adverse effects were substantial and long-term. It found that the statutory test was met from 4 October 2016 onwards, after a lengthy 2016 absence involving facial pain, depression and anxiety, and remained met at dismissal on 23 January 2023. The substantive discrimination arising from disability claim was not decided at this hearing and was to proceed to the Final Hearing.
Claims and outcomes
1 finding recorded| Claim type | Issue or finding | Outcome | Protected characteristic | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disability discrimination | Preliminary Hearing only. The Tribunal determined that the claimant was a disabled person under section 6 Equality Act 2010 from 4 October 2016 to dismissal on 23 January 2023. The substantive section 15 discrimination arising from disability claim was not adjudicated and was to proceed to a Final Hearing. | Other | Disability | — |
Legal tests applied
20 references- section 6 Equality Act 2010
- section 15 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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