A woman dismissed after an incident at work which arose from effects of the menopause has won a claim for disability discrimination.

The woman is a Court Officer. She had severe symptoms from the menopause, and her employer agreed various adjustments to her work. It conceded she had a disability.

She was dismissed because of an incident which the tribunal said was affected by her disability. The latter had caused her to be confused and forgetful and led to the incident.

The employment tribunal upheld her claim for unfair dismissal and ordered reinstatement. It also upheld her claim for discrimination arising from disability under s.15 EqA.

The case is Davies v Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, Employment tribunal, 2018 www.gov.uk/employment-tribunal-decisions/ms-m-davies-v-scottish-courts-and-tribunals-service-4104575-2017

Note this is an employment tribunal decision, and so does not have the precedent value of appeal decisions.

Whether the menopause gives rise to a disability within the Equality Act 2010 will depend on whether it meets the legal definition of disability in the individual case. However an older tribunal case, Merchant v BT, illustrates that the menopause can raise legal issues such as sex discrimination even if it is not a disability.

For more, see: Menopause.