Mr J McKenzie v Scottish Ambulance Service — 2024

At a preliminary hearing in Edinburgh on 3 June 2024, Employment Judge A Jones dealt with the claimant's asserted disability status and the respondent's application to strike out, or alternatively require a deposit for, the unfair dismissal claim. The claimant was in remission from stage IV cancer and said he also had a mental health impairment involving anxiety and depression, with possible PTSD; the respondent accepted disability arising from cancer remission but disputed that he was disabled by reason of a mental health condition and said it was unaware of such a condition.

The tribunal found that the claimant had a mental health impairment amounting to disability under section 6 Equality Act 2010. It accepted evidence that he had significant difficulty eating and swallowing, poor sleep, social withdrawal, and long-term effects on normal day-to-day activities. The tribunal also accepted that he had not received a formal diagnosis of a specific mental health condition, but held that this did not prevent him from meeting the statutory definition.

The tribunal further found that the respondent knew, or ought reasonably to have known, of the disability. It relied on the line manager email referring to the claimant's mental health and to him not being suicidal, the claimant's discussions with his line manager, the Salus HADS scores, and the occupational health report referring to a possible diagnosis. The respondent's application to strike out the unfair dismissal claim, or to require a deposit, was refused because the tribunal considered that evidence was needed, including on redeployment and the claimant's case that he had sought accommodation. Time bar was mentioned in submissions but was not determined because it was outside the notice of hearing.