Young vs Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis

This case involved an appeal by Ms. Hayley Young against her dismissal by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, focusing on whether her condition of fibromyalgia constituted a disability under the Equality Act 2010.

TLDR:

• Ms. Young was dismissed due to unacceptable attendance levels.
• She claimed her absences were due to fibromyalgia, constituting a disability.
• The tribunal found no substantial evidence that she had fibromyalgia at the material time.
• The appeal was dismissed, upholding the original tribunal's decision.

The appellant, Ms. Hayley Young, was dismissed from her position as a communications officer by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on 19 November 2019, due to unacceptable attendance levels. Her absences, totaling 100 working days over a 26-month period, were attributed to various health issues including digestive disorders, respiratory influenza, psychological disorders, and musculoskeletal pain.

Ms. Young claimed that her dismissal was unfair and constituted disability discrimination, arguing that her absences were due to fibromyalgia. The employment tribunal, in its judgment sent on 20 December 2022, held that she had not been unfairly dismissed and did not have a disability at the material time.

The tribunal's findings centered on whether Ms. Young was disabled under section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 due to fibromyalgia. The evidence presented included correspondence from medical practitioners but lacked expert or detailed medical reports. A letter from her GP dated 4 July 2019 suggested that her symptoms were due to fibromyalgia, but the tribunal found this letter unreliable due to factual errors and lack of comprehensive history.

Further evidence from a physiotherapist in October 2020 confirmed a diagnosis of fibromyalgia by a rheumatology team in August 2020. However, the tribunal concluded that Ms. Young's symptoms prior to this diagnosis were not attributable to fibromyalgia but to other conditions.

The tribunal found that Ms. Young's symptoms had deteriorated post-July 2019, supported by DWP awards and the fibromyalgia diagnosis in August 2020. It concluded that she was not disabled by fibromyalgia at the material time (February 2018 to November 2019) but became disabled from August 2020 onwards.

On appeal, Ms. Young argued that the tribunal's decision was perverse and that it erred in its assessment of the evidence. The Employment Appeal Tribunal found that the original tribunal had provided detailed and rational reasons for its conclusions, particularly in placing reduced weight on the GP's letter and accepting the later diagnosis from a specialist.

The appeal was dismissed, with the tribunal's findings on the lack of a substantial and long-term impairment during the material time being upheld. The tribunal also noted that even if fibromyalgia had been present, there was insufficient evidence to link her absences to this condition.