Taylor v Ladbrokes Betting & Gaming Ltd
The EAT in this case said that type 2 diabetes CAN be a disability
Background
After the Claimant's dismissal, he asserted he had been disabled for almost a year before the dismissal, due to type 2 diabetes. At a Preliminary Hearing, the Employment Tribunal relied on two medical reports and decided that he was not disabled. The Claimant appealed.
The EAT upheld the appeal, holding that the Employment Tribunal had misconstrued the proper test. Type 2 diabetes, as a progressive condition, would amount to a disability even if it did not have a substantial adverse effect at that time, as long as it was likely that it would result in such a condition.
The Claimant's diabetes was controlled by medication and there were 'lifestyle' changes the Claimant could reasonably make to control the condition. However, the question was whether the condition was likely to result in an impairment.
The issue was not what might happen to a proportion of the population, but whether the medical evidence suggested there was a chance of something happening. The medical evidence was not clear on this and had been misinterpreted by the tribunal. The EAT remitted back to the tribunal to reconsider the issue.
Reminder of the Law on Disability
In this context, the definition of disability is not a medical one but a legal one covered by the Equality Act 2010 and you are classed as disabled if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.
‘substantial’ is more than minor or trivial, e.g. it takes much longer than it usually would to complete a daily task like getting dressed
‘long-term’ means 12 months or more, e.g. a breathing condition that develops as a result of a lung infection
There are special rules about recurring or fluctuating conditions, e.g. arthritis.
A progressive condition is one that gets worse over time. People with progressive conditions can be classed as disabled.
However, a person will automatically meet the disability definition under the Equality Act 2010 from the day they’re diagnosed with HIV infection, cancer or multiple sclerosis.
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