Mr Z Naveed v Openreach Ltd — 2026

This preliminary hearing determined whether Mr Z Naveed was a disabled person under section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 during the material period from 20 May 2024 to 16 January 2025. The Tribunal did not determine the merits of the disability discrimination allegations or the ordinary unfair dismissal claim. Openreach Limited conceded that Mr Naveed's coeliac status was a disability, but disputed disability status in relation to his chronic fatigue and associated symptoms and his mental health.

The Tribunal found that Mr Naveed had experienced gastrointestinal symptoms, low energy, chronic fatigue, tinnitus and insomnia. An occupational health report dated 29 August 2024 recorded that he could undertake all normal daily activities at home. The Tribunal found that his evidence did not establish that tinnitus, insomnia, malabsorption or energy crashes affected the household cleaning activities on which he relied. Although cleaning the driveway left him physically exhausted for days, his evidence was that a lack of motivation, rather than physical exhaustion, delayed him from undertaking it.

The Tribunal accepted that household cleaning tasks were normal day-to-day activities and that Mr Naveed could leave them undone for months despite recognising that they required attention. It found, however, that this adverse effect arose from his mental health rather than the symptoms attributed to chronic fatigue. The medical evidence described his low mood and anxiety as reactive to his physical health issues, and he said in November 2024 that he did not need mental health support but required help with his gastrointestinal symptoms.

Applying the section 6 definition and the Goodwin four-step test, and considering the distinction in J v DLA Piper UK LLP and Herry v Dudley Metropolitan Council between mental impairment and a reaction to adverse circumstances, the Tribunal found that the mental health effects were a reaction to ongoing gastrointestinal symptoms and dissatisfaction with delays in diagnosis and treatment, rather than a mental impairment. It therefore held that Mr Naveed was not disabled by chronic fatigue encompassing tinnitus, insomnia, malabsorption and energy crashes, or by his mental health. No remedy was determined. The case was directed to proceed to the final hearing in August 2026 concerning ordinary unfair dismissal and disability discrimination allegations based on coeliac disease.