Robinson v Nottingham Healthcare NHS

Facts

The claimant was employed by Nottingham Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust as a temporary staffing administrator from 7 September 2020 until she resigned on 16 June 2022, the effective date of termination being 15 July 2022. During her employment she had raised issues because she felt unable to wear a mask. She issued her claim on 6 July 2022, bringing complaints of disability discrimination and relying on the condition of generalised anxiety and panic disorder, first diagnosed on 1 March 2018. The claim went through relatively extensive case management: on 5 September 2022 Employment Judge Ahmed ordered the claimant to answer a number of questions about her condition and its effects on her day-to-day activities, to which she gave a detailed response with some medical evidence; at a further case management hearing before Employment Judge Heap on 2 November 2022 it was noted that the burden lay on her to establish disability, and she obtained a letter from her general practitioner describing symptoms including low mood, lack of motivation, poor sleep pattern, headaches, nausea, panic attacks and severe anxiety. At a Preliminary Hearing on 19 September 2023, Employment Judge Shore held that she was not a disabled person at the relevant times and dismissed her claims; that judgment was sent to the parties on 12 January 2024. She appealed.