![]() |
[Home] [Databases] [World Law] [Multidatabase Search] [Help] [Feedback] | |
United Kingdom Employment Appeal Tribunal |
||
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom Employment Appeal Tribunal >> Aderemi v London and South Eastern Railway Ltd (Disability Discrimination : Disability) [2012] UKEAT 0316_12_0612 (6 December 2012) URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKEAT/2012/0316_12_0612.html Cite as: [2012] UKEAT 316_12_612, [2013] Eq LR 198, [2012] UKEAT 0316_12_0612, [2013] ICR 591 |
[New search] [Printable RTF version] [Buy ICLR report: [2013] ICR 591] [Help]
At the Tribunal | |
Before
THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE LANGSTAFF (PRESIDENT)
MR M SINGH
DR B V FITZGERALD MBE LLD FRSA
APPELLANT | |
RESPONDENT |
Transcript of Proceedings
JUDGMENT
APPEARANCES
SUMMARY
DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION – Disability
ET decided that a station attendant, who had to be on his feet for most of the day and who had developed a back condition which precluded this, and was dismissed as a result of a lack of capability, was not disabled because the impairment caused by his condition did not have a substantial adverse effect upon his ability to do normal day-to-day activities. To do so, it appeared to concentrate on those activities which he could do, rather than those he could not; and may well have excluded considering what he could not do at work (stand for periods of 30 minutes or so, bend, lift and carry). Held these were errors of approach.
THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE LANGSTAFF (PRESIDENT)
Introduction
The facts
"The report from the company's medical officer stated that you are fit but within certain limitations. We have tried to find you suitable alternative work within those limitations but have been unsuccessful. The medical officer highlighted that it is unlikely that you will be unable to return to your substantive job in the foreseeable future."
The Tribunal Judgment
"60. The Tribunal considered all the evidence very carefully. In the Claimant's witness statement the Claimant had focussed on the effect which his back pain had on his work and the Claimant himself did not want to accept that his back problem was a disability. Sitting as an industrial jury we bore in mind the fact that individuals can be unwilling even to admit to themselves that a medical condition from which they suffer may amount to a disability. However the Claimant's own evidence did not significantly address the effect which his back pain had on his day to day activities apart from work activities. The Claimant took medication to relieve the pain when it was severe. Not surprisingly, the Claimant has been avoiding alternative jobs which are primarily standing jobs.
61. The Claimant's further and better particulars of his impairment did not in our judgment reflect a situation in which the effects of the Claimant's back condition were substantial. The Claimant stated that his back pain did not affect light physical activities such as walking, sitting or standing, provided it was not for prolonged periods and although he was unable to bend down too low or too much and that he struggles to lift and carry heavy items, he can lift light items and can bend. In answer to questions put to him by the Tribunal, the Claimant stated that he would walk around, could carry a tray and could carry items without serious weight. He can wash up, put shoes on and he stated that he had improved. The Claimant did a lot of exercise and that he walked around. The Claimant stated that his condition was just muscular.
62. The Tribunal had regard to the relevant guidance on the definition of disability, and in particular, to the examples under the list of capacities. […]"
"Only if it affects one of the following—
(a) mobility;
(b) manual dexterity;
(c) physical coordination;
(d) continence;
(e) ability to lift, carry or otherwise move everyday objects;
(f) speech, hearing of eyesight;
(g) memory or ability to concentrate, learn or understand; or
(h) perception of the risk of physical danger."
"(a) he has a physical or mental impairment, and
(b) the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities."
"62. […] Thus, under the capacity of an ability to lift, carry or otherwise move everyday objects, the examples provided in relation to what it will be reasonable to regard as having a substantial adverse effect involve the following:
- Difficulty picking up objects of moderate weight with one hand;
- Difficulty opening a moderately heavy door;
- Difficulty carrying a moderately loaded tray as steadily.
63. In relation to mobility, the examples of where it would be reasonable to regard as having a substantial adverse effect included:
- Total inability to walk, or difficulty walking other than for a slow pace or with steady armed or jerky movements;
- Difficulty in going up or down stairs or gradients;
- Difficulty using one or more form of public transport;
- Difficulty going out of door unaccompanied.
64. Although the effects of back pain should not be underestimated, the Tribunal did not conclude in the circumstances of the Claimant that his condition of low back pain crossed the threshold into the statutory definition of disability, namely that his condition had a substantial and adverse effect on his day to day activities."
Submissions and discussion
"The only proper approach to establishing whether the disadvantage was substantial is to compare the effect of the disability on the individual. This involves considering how he in fact carries out the activity compared with how he would do it if not suffering the impairment. If that difference is more than the kind of difference one might expect taking a cross-section of the population, then the effects are substantial."
"An impairment of manual dexterity - to take that as an example - is almost bound to affect a myriad of individual activities, not all of which could satisfactory be listed even by the most able and eloquent of applicants. Assuming for the moment without deciding […] that an impairment of any of the capacities listed at paragraph 4(1) [we would propose to say that is a reference to the schedule to the Disability Discrimination Act to which we have referred above] is not in itself determinative of the question of impact on the normal day-to-day activities but that the impairment must be shown to have some such effect, it nonetheless seems to us that it will only be in the most exceptional case that any such impairment would not do so. If there was some impairment that affected a concert pianist only in his ability to manipulate the keys of his piano, it would affect his manual dexterity but would not affect normal day-to-day activities within the meaning of the Act: but it is difficult to contemplate what the nature of an impairment might be that has such a selective effect. In most normal cases, it is likely that the answer to the question, 'Has a paragraph 4(1) ability been affected' will also answer the question whether there has been an impact on normal day-to-day activities."
"66. In our judgment, the Appellant's submission is correct. We would have reached that conclusion simply taking domestic law on its own without any reference to the decision in Chacón. In our view carrying out an assessment or examination is properly to be described as a normal day-to-day activity. Moreover, as we have said, in our view, the act of reading and comprehension is itself a normal day-to-day activity. In any event, whatever ambiguity there may be about that, in our view, the decision of the ECJ in Chacón Navas is decisive of this case.
67. We must read section 1 in a way which gives effect to EU law. We think it can be readily done, simply by giving a meaning to day-to-day activities which encompasses the activities which are relevant to participation in professional life. Appropriate measures must be taken to enable a worker to advance in his or her employment. Since the effect of the disability may adversely affect promotion prospects, then it must be said to hinder participation in professional life."
"A question may arise as to whether work of a particular form can be a normal day-to-day activity. If one takes, for example, a skilled silversmith. or a watchmaker, the activities involved in the employee operating his specialised tools to craft fine objects at some precision will be a normal day-to-day activity for him. But is it a normal day-to-day activity in terms of section 1 of the DDA? We are satisfied that the answer to that question would be no. A useful explanation is provided by D7 of the Guidance.:
'(D7) Normal day-to-day activities do not include work of any particular form because no particular form of work is 'normal' for most people. In any individual case, the activities carried out might be highly specialised. For example, carrying out highly delicate work with specialised tools may be a normal working activity for a watch repairer, whereas it would not be normal for a person who is employed as a semi-skilled worker. The Act only covers effects which go beyond the normal differences in skill and ability.'"
"it is relevant to consider whether they are limited in an activity which is to be found across a range of employment situations. It is plainly not meant to refer to the special skill case, such as the silversmith or watchmaker who is limited in some activity that the use of their specialist tools particularly requires, to whom we have already referred. It does though, in our view enable a Tribunal to take account of an adverse effect that is attributable to a work activity that is normal in the sense that is to be found in range of different work situations. We do not, in particular, accept that 'normal day-to-day activities' requires to be construed so as to exclude any feature of those activities that exist because the person is at work. […] To put it another way, something that a person does only at work maybe classed as normal if it is common to different types of employment."
Disposal
The appeal in respect of unfair dismissal