The claimant made Equality Act 2010 (EqA) claims relying on ‘work related stress and anxiety’ as his disability. He later added that he also stammered. An employment tribunal (ET) accepted that his stammer was a disability within the EqA. However, in the circumstances of the case, the ET refused to amend his claims to include this.
2026, Employment Tribunal, Case No: 3306035/2023. Full decision (gov.uk).
An ET judge previously determined that the claimant’s disability discrimination claims relied on ‘work related stress and anxiety’. (§12)
At a later stage, the claimant later stated that he also relied on his stammering as a disability. The ET understood his complaint on this to relate to a performance review where he was told that he needed to ‘learn how to communicate’. His claim forms made no mention of stammering, nor of this complaint. The ET treated the claimant as having made an application to amend his claim to include a complaint about stammering as a disability. (§16)
The ET held that the claimant had not shown he was a disabled person by reason of chronic anxiety and clinical depression (§§26-29) or back pain (§§19-24).
What about his stammer? The claimant’s impact statement said on this:
Stammer/speech:
13. While most of the above could be well controlled in difficult times with medication, I have difficulty speaking when distressed and continue to feel anxiety and embarrassment in large meetings or social settings because of my stammering which can not be cured.Note: The ‘above’ refers to effects of stress/anxiety/depression previously listed in his impact statement.
The ET accepted that the claimant’s stammer was a disability within the EqA. The ET judge said:
25. I am satisfied that the claimant is [a] disabled person within the meaning of section 6 Equality Act 2010 in respect of his stammering. The claimant’s condition is life long. The effect of the claimant’s condition is that when [sic] he has ‘difficulty speaking when distressed and continue to feel anxiety and embarrassment in large meetings or social settings’. The fact that the claimant is affected by feelings of anxiety and embarrassment in social settings is in my view a matter that is a substantial adverse effect on normal day to day activities.
However, in the circumstances of the case, the ET refused to allow an amendment of his claims to include the complaint about stammering (§§30-32).
