In Bessell v Chief Constable of Dorset Police, an ET had to determine whether Bessell (B), who has colour blindness, is a disabled person under the Equality Act 2010. B argued that his impairment has a substantial and long term adverse effect on his ability to carry out three normal day-to-day activities, i.e. cooking, reading/Interpreting documents/text and watching sport. The ET found that B’s impairment did not create a substantial adverse as each adverse effect was matched by a coping strategy that effectively negated its impact. For example: B could not tell whether chicken was under-cooked just by looking at it but could and did use a skewer to test to see whether the juices were clear; the colours used on subway maps were of no assistance to him, but he could use destinations and other information about the lines; commentary and captioning would assist him when watching snooker or distinguishing between the strips worn by Tour de France cyclists.

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