A magistrate who was classed as disabled due to fibromyalgia has had her claims of disability discrimination, harassment and victimisation dismissed at an employment tribunal.
Melanie Treganza Dancer was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 1999, as well as anxiety and depression in 2022, and was classed as disabled afterwards. She successfully applied to become a magistrate in January 2008, when she disclosed having fibromyalgia, and started in the role in 2009.
Dancer argued that due to the condition, she needed to sit on the left of the bench chair to minimise pain and discomfort. She was told she needed to raise her need for specific seatings with future chairs.
In March 2022, she asked to sit on the left of the bench chair, where a fellow magistrate was already seated. They then moved to allow Dancer to sit there. However, a complaint was later made about her by a colleague, who found Dancer’s “attitude rude and her conduct unprofessional”.
The tribunal did not find that Dancer was “put to any disadvantage or detriment, or treated less favourably than someone without a disability”. It also found the complaint made by a fellow magistrate had nothing to do with Dancer’s disability or anything related to it, but was due to “the perceived manner in which [Dancer] spoke to her and treated her”.
Employment judge Liz Ord said: “It was not until [Dancer] was asked to respond to the complaint about her attitude, that she made allegations of discrimination against the other bench members, which then expanded to include the bench chair, who was simply trying to resolve matters informally in a reasonable manner.
“There is no hint of anyone being discriminatory towards the claimant. In fact, there were many attempts to try and support her and meet with her to understand her needs and reasonable adjustments. All along, she put obstacles in the way to avoid any meetings taking place to discuss the complaints against her or her requirements. This was despite being given chance after chance by those who were trying to help and resolve the situation.”
