Mrs J Burgess v Canolfan Gymunedol Ystradowen Community Centre Ltd (England and Wales : Contract of Employment)

Factual and Procedural Background

This opinion arises from a preliminary hearing before the Employment Tribunal concerning whether the Claimant meets the definition of disability under section 6(1) of the Equality Act 2010. The hearing was held face-to-face at Swansea Magistrates' Court on 12 September 2024. The Claimant appeared in person, and the Respondent was represented by a litigation consultant. The issue was whether the Claimant has or has had a disability as defined by law, based on various physical and mental health conditions.

Legal Issues Presented

1. Whether the Claimant has a disability within the meaning of section 6(1) of the Equality Act 2010.
2. Whether specific physical impairments including episodic dizziness and blurred vision arising from benign paroxysmal positional vertigo or nystagmus constitute a disability.
3. Whether mental impairments such as anxiety and episodic low mood arising from anxiety and depression constitute a disability.
4. Whether combined mental and physical impairments related to perimenopause and menopause constitute a disability.
5. Whether hypertension diagnosed in March 2023 constitutes a disability under the Equality Act 2010.

Arguments of the Parties

The opinion does not contain a detailed account of the parties' legal arguments.

Table of Precedents Cited

No precedents were cited in the provided opinion.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The Tribunal analysed the Claimant’s various impairments against the statutory definition of disability under section 6(1) of the Equality Act 2010, which requires a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

It was found that the Claimant’s episodic dizziness and blurred vision from benign paroxysmal positional vertigo or nystagmus have had a substantial and long-term effect since December 2021, qualifying as a disability.

The Claimant’s mental impairments, notably anxiety and episodic low mood from anxiety and depression, were found to have a substantial and long-term adverse effect since December 2022 and thus also meet the disability threshold.

Further, the combination of mental and physical symptoms related to perimenopause and menopause—including low mood, mood swings, night sweats, aching joints, insomnia, fatigue, painful heavy bleeding, headaches, memory loss, brain fog, and incontinence—were found to have a substantial and long-term adverse impact since mid-2022, constituting a disability.

Conversely, the hypertension diagnosed in March 2023 was determined not to amount to a disability as it had not caused a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the Claimant’s normal day-to-day activities.

Holding and Implications

The Tribunal’s final decision is as follows:

• The Claimant is disabled within the meaning of section 6(1) of the Equality Act 2010 due to physical impairments from benign paroxysmal positional vertigo or nystagmus, mental impairments from anxiety and depression, and combined impairments related to perimenopause and menopause.
• The Claimant is not disabled by reason of hypertension diagnosed in March 2023.

The decision directly affects the Claimant’s status under the Equality Act 2010 for the purposes of this employment dispute. The opinion does not establish new legal precedent beyond the application of existing statutory definitions to the facts presented.