Parnaby v Leicester City Council (Disability Discrimination): EAT 19 Jul 2019

DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION – disability – disabled person – section 6 Schedule 1 Equality Act 2010
In finding that the Claimant, who suffered work related stress, was not a disabled person for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 (‘the EqA’), the Employment Tribunal (‘ET’) accepted that he suffered an impairment that had a substantial adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day to day activities but held this was not long-term. In reaching that conclusion, the ET noted the Claimant had suffered work related stress from January to June 2017, but that had not continued after his dismissal; the effect had not been long-term for the purposes of paragraph 2 Schedule 1 EqA. The Claimant appealed.
Held: allowing the appeal
The ET’s finding, that the effect of the Claimant’s impairment was not likely to last at least 12 months or to recur, was informed by the fact that the Claimant had been dismissed, which had removed the cause of the impairment – the work-related stress. The decision to dismiss was, however, one of the matters of which the Claimant complained as an act of disability discrimination. The ET had needed to consider the question of likelihood – whether it could well happen that the effect would last at least 12 months or recur – at the time at which the relevant decisions were being taken, which was prior to the implementation of the decision to dismiss. This error of approach meant the ET’s conclusion could not stand and the question whether the Claimant’s impairment was ‘long-term’ for the purposes of Schedule 1 of the EqA would be remitted to differently constituted ET for re-hearing.

Judges:

Eady QC HHJ

Citations:

[2019 UKEAT 0025 – 19 – 1907

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Employment, Discrimination

Updated: 31 August 2022; Ref: scu.642753