EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS (SCOTLAND) Case No: 8000323/2023 (V) Held at Aberdeen on November 2023 Employment Judge N M Hosie Aaron Hadley v Outdoor and Cycle Concepts Limited — 2023

This was a preliminary hearing on whether Aaron Hadley met the statutory definition of disability for the purposes of his disability discrimination claim. The respondent did not accept that he was disabled. The tribunal heard evidence from Mr Hadley and considered medical records and an impact statement. It found him measured, consistent and credible, and accepted that he had sciatica first diagnosed in 2017, with recurring flare-ups and recorded sickness absences and GP consultations over several years.

The tribunal held that the condition amounted to a physical impairment with an adverse effect on day-to-day activities that was more than minor or trivial, and that the effect was long-term because it had continued intermittently since 2017 and was likely to recur. It also accepted that during serious flare-ups Mr Hadley could be unable to walk for days and that the condition affected ordinary activities, sleep and his active lifestyle. Applying s.6 Equality Act 2010, Schedule 1 and the Goodwin approach, the tribunal found that he was disabled at the relevant time and that it had jurisdiction to consider his disability discrimination claim. The merits of the discrimination claim and the separate unfair dismissal claim were not determined in this judgment.