Disability Discrimination - You Can Leave Your Hat On

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has dismissed the appeal of a claimant who argued that a condition that made him vulnerable to temperatures below 27° Celsius was a long-term physical impairment for the purposes of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Sawyer v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions).

Mr Sawyer worked for the Department for Work and Pensions at one of its Job Centre Plus offices. In April 2004, he was provided with a portable heater. This, together with the heavy clothing and hats he wore, enabled him to maintain the required temperature, which he claimed prevented him from suffering from various chest conditions that had previously troubled him. In September 2007, however, the personal heater was taken away. Mr Sawyer claimed that he had been the victim of disability discrimination.

The Employment Tribunal (ET) found that the case had no real prospect of success as it did not appear that Mr Sawyer was disabled within the meaning of the Act. He was not suffering from a long-term physical impairment because he himself conceded that he had not had bronchitis or breathing difficulties between April 2004 and September 2007 and the only medical evidence available to the ET was a scribbled note from Mr Sawyer's GP.

Mr Sawyer appealed. He attended the August 2008 hearing in an overcoat and two woolly hats.

The EAT found that Mr Sawyer had not demonstrated that his condition had a substantial long-term effect and so he was not disabled for the purposes of the Act.

Telephone: +44 (0) 1753 486 777 (Slough Office)
Telephone: +44 (0) 1189 596031 (Reading Office)