A recent employment tribunal decision has found that it wasn’t discriminatory for an employer to require a disabled employee to commute to the office once a month.
Background
The employee suffered with menopause symptoms and a disability causing back pain. She worked from home for three years following the first COVID lockdown. She was asked to attend the office one per month (50 minute commute each way) as their employer was looking to boost collaboration, support training and ensure employees didn’t feel isolated.
Medical evidence said the employee would require micro-breaks during the commute with the employer offering to pay for the additional travel time. The employee claimed the return-to-office request was discriminatory. The tribunal disagreed and held that it wasn’t an unreasonable request despite her disabilities, and that she “simply did not wish to travel”, not that she couldn’t do it (which the medical evidence supported).
Practical takeaway
We keep hearing more of you would like to bring your people together. There are clearly lots of factors to consider. Here are just a few thoughts… get in touch to talk through your specific situation.
Contractual considerations – if you’re applying a blanket policy on a return to the office, consider whether you have the contractual right to enforce the change.
Suffering a disadvantage – consider whether your policy will put a group of individuals at a disadvantage because of a protected characteristic (e.g. disability), and whether your aims for the policy or management decision you’re trying to implement can be achieved in another way.
What does the medical opinion say – is there a reasonable adjustment to help alleviate any disadvantage employees may face (e.g. paid breaks during travel as in this case)? If employees reject the policy or request, can they be redeployed into another role to accommodate them? Always take advice.
Get in touch if you need our advice or guidance on anything we’ve covered in this update.
This update is accurate on the date it was published but may be subject to change which may or may not be notified to you. This update is not to be taken as advice and you should seek advice if anything contained within affects you or your business.
