Ms C Carter v Represented by Mr T Hussain Litigation Consultant Mid and East Lothian Drugs SCIO — 2025

This was a preliminary hearing in Ms Christina Carter's disability discrimination case against Mid and East Lothian Drugs SCIO. The issue was whether she was a disabled person within section 6 of the Equality Act 2010. The tribunal heard only from the claimant and considered her disability impact statement, supplementary witness statement and medical records. It accepted that she had longstanding mental health impairments, including CPTSD, depression and anxiety, and that she had been employed by the respondent as a recovery worker from 3 April 2023 until dismissal on 6 September 2024.

Applying the Goodwin questions and Schedule 1, the tribunal found that the claimant's impairments caused hypervigilance, poor sleep, nightmares and flashbacks, difficulty leaving the house, problems with personal care and healthy eating, and difficulty concentrating and interacting with others, including at work. Although the tribunal noted that her evidence on day-to-day impact lacked detail and that part of her supplementary statement was not fully reliable, it accepted that the adverse effects were substantial and long-term, supported by counselling, therapy and medication. It rejected the respondent's submission that the evidence showed only reactions to life events, and held that the claimant was a disabled person under the Act from 4 October 2016 at all material times. No remedy was determined at this hearing.