Conditions that can be corrected by medication or treatment 



The EA 10 (Schedule 1 Part 1, section 5(1)(b)) says that where the effects of an impairment can be removed by “measures” to treat or correct it, for example drugs or a prosthetic limb, these measures should be disregarded when deciding whether the individual is disabled. There is an exception for ordinary spectacles and contact lenses.



Two recent EAT rulings have addressed Type 2 diabetes, and the scope for claimants to be able to modify their behaviour (diet and lifestyle), using “coping or avoidance” strategies to “treat or correct” their condition (Guidance, para B7). Sometimes, says the Guidance, these strategies can be so successful that the effect of the impairment is no longer “substantial”, and the person is no longer disabled. The suggestion here is that someone who unreasonably fails to modify their lifestyle and diet may not be protected by the disability provisions of the EA 10.


However, every case depends on its own facts. In Metroline Travel Limited v Stoute [2015] UKEAT 0302/14/2601, the EAT accepted that a need to follow a particular diet for medical reasons can, in some cases, be a “treatment or correction”, which must be ignored when assessing the effect of an impairment. But the EAT went on to decide that the Type 2 diabetes suffered by the claimant in that case, which was manageable by avoiding sugary food and drink, was not a disability, concluding that the simple step of avoiding sugary drinks and food is not a “treatment or correction”.


Whether or not a member’s Type 2 diabetes is a disability will depend on that person’s condition and their future prognosis (Taylor v Ladbrokes Betting and Gaming Limited [2016] UKEAT 0353/15/1612).