Mitchell v St. Andrew’s Timber & Building Supplies Ltd — 2025

At this preliminary hearing the tribunal considered whether Ms Mitchell was a disabled person under section 6 Equality Act 2010 during the relevant period, 11 December 2022 to 20 February 2024, for the purposes of the respondents' outstanding deposit application on the reasonable adjustments complaint. The claimant gave evidence and the tribunal heard from Ms Astrid McCabe and Ms Kerrie Ferguson. It found the claimant credible on the nature and impact of her condition, and accepted much of the respondents' evidence about how she appeared at work.

The tribunal found that the claimant suffered from anxiety and that this was an underlying condition rather than merely a reaction to stressful life events. It relied on the GP records, repeated prescriptions, and the GP letter dated 5 August 2024 showing consultations relating to anxiety dating back to December 2020, together with evidence that symptoms returned when medication was stopped. Leaving medication out of account, it found substantial adverse effects on normal day-to-day activities including self-care, shopping and social contact, and that those effects had lasted, or were likely to last, for at least 12 months.

The tribunal therefore held that the claimant was a disabled person within section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 at the relevant time. It also recorded that no merits determination of the underlying discrimination complaint was being made at this hearing, and that any further case management before the final hearing could be raised within 14 days.