Labour Research (December 2013)

Law Queries

Definition of disability

Q. My member has suffered from lower back pain for nearly two years. He spends most of his working day on his feet but his condition now means he can no longer stand for more than 20 minute stretches. His employer argues that my member’s back pain cannot be a disability because he can still carry out lots of other normal activities. Is this right?

A. No. Your employer is taking a wrong-headed approach to the statutory meaning of disability. It is what your member cannot do as a result of their impairment that matters, not what they can do.

The Equality Act 2010 says someone has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a “substantial and long-term adverse effect” on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. There is no longer a statutory list of day-to-day activities. Instead, your member needs to be able to produce evidence that their own normal day-to-day activities have been adversely affected.

The EAT in Aderemi v London and South Eastern Railway Limited [2012] UKEAT 0316/12/0612 said normal day-to-day activities are any activities that are not unusual and can include activities mostly carried out at work.

Spending much of the working day standing can certainly qualify as a “normal” day-to-day activity, because many jobs require workers to spend much of the day on their feet.

www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKEAT/2012/0316_12_0612.html


This information is copyright to the Labour Research Department (LRD) and may not be reproduced without the permission of the LRD.