A senior estate agent who suffered from migraines has been given the go-ahead by an employment tribunal to claim disability discrimination.

Sarah Williams, who worked as a team manager with a Countrywide estate agency, says her severe headaches prevented her from carrying out her job.

The estate agent is claiming disability discrimination, unfair dismissal and unlawful deduction from wages, and there will be a hearing to determine the outcome of the case.

I therefore conclude that the claimant was disabled.”

Williams worked for Countrywide from February 2022 to June 2023, and her claim relates to the last month of her employment.

Judge Boyle, sitting at a tribunal in Birmingham, says of the migraines: “I am satisfied that these refer to day-to-day activities and the level she describes suggests a substantial effect on her ability to undertake these [estate agent] tasks.

“I therefore conclude that the claimant was disabled within the meaning of s.6 Equality Act 2010 with her migraine conditions, during the relevant period.”

Dismissed

But he dismissed further claims of discrimination based on two further medical conditions of Empty Sella Syndrome (ESS) and Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) because there was insufficient evidence to support them.

“Based on my finding that there has been no formal diagnosis and very limited medical evidence and the claimant appears to have self- diagnosed this condition, I am not satisfied that the claimant suffered from the condition of ESS at the relevant time and that the headache/eye pain impairments she describes are more like associated with her migraine condition.

And “I find that the claimant did not have the condition of IIH at the relevant time”.

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