Is COVID-19 a disability? Most of you reading this will be thinking, ‘surely not'. Whilst COVID-19 is of course a terrible disease, it affects people in different ways, some people will be entirely asymptomatic, some people will feel mildly unwell, others will be very unwell but will recover within a few weeks and sadly there are many people who do not recover at all.
A person disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial' and ‘long-term' negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.
There are a group of people who have survived (even relatively mild) COVID-19 infection but who are experiencing shortness of breath, fatigue, cognitive issues, erratic heartbeat, gastrointestinal issues, low-grade fever, intolerance to physical or mental activity, and muscle and joint pains.
This is the so called “Long- Covid”.
Researchers from Patient-Led Research for Covid-19 conducted a survey of Long- Covid patients found that many Long- Covid patients unable to work six months after infection.
A friend of mine has Long- Covid and describes the fatigue as debilitating and like nothing she has ever experienced before.
The guidance to accompany the Equality Act 2010, states “A disability can arise from a wide range of impairments which can be … chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)”
COVID-19 hasn't really been around long enough yet but I expect that if Long- Covid symptoms last for 12 months or more, then it will classified as a disability under Equality Act 2010, and if employers do not treat their employees in a non-discriminatory way, as well as ensuring that they make reasonable adjustments, they will risk claims for discrimination further down the line.
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