Miss M McDermott v Roseangle House Nursery Ltd — 2024

The preliminary hearing on 28 November 2024 before Employment Judge McFatridge at Dundee was limited to whether Miss McDermott was disabled for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 at the relevant time. The claimant relied on longstanding mental health difficulties, including depression and PTSD, together with medical records showing treatment from 2005 onwards, including antidepressant medication and psychological services input over several periods.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant genuinely tried to give honest evidence and found that she did suffer from a mental impairment. It accepted the medical evidence that she had depression and PTSD, but noted that she did not give clear evidence about how she would function without medication. The judge also recorded that she had been able to work, had restricted her hours by choice when starting with the respondent, and had been promoted after a short time.

On the second limb of the statutory test, the tribunal found that the evidence did not establish a substantial adverse effect on normal day-to-day activities. It considered that a restricted social life, preference not to travel on public transport where avoidable, and internal low mood and struggle were not enough on the evidence heard. It also said there was nothing sufficient to show that, without medication, the impairment would have had a greater effect on day-to-day activities.

The tribunal therefore held that Miss McDermott was not a disabled person in terms of section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 at the relevant time and dismissed the disability discrimination claim. It also noted that any other claims were not specified in the documentation and, if they existed, were dismissed on that basis.