A carer who lost her job at Nationwide Building Society after it decided those with her role could no longer work from home has been awarded nearly £350,000 in compensation for indirect disability discrimination.
Mrs Follows, a senior lending manager, was employed on a homeworking contract. She cared for her elderly and disabled mother, but would attend the office a few days each week for meetings.
Nationwide decided that all senior lending managers should be office-based so they could supervise staff more. Follows refused to work in the office full time and Nationwide made her redundant in 2018.
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An employment tribunal in 2021 found that Nationwide’s actions amounted to indirect disability discrimination, despite the fact that it was Follows’ mother who was disabled and not the claimant herself. It said she had been unfairly dismissed.
Employment judge Mark Emery said the organisation had failed to take into account Follows’ view that the role could be undertaken from home, or of her history of excellent supervisory work.
The judge concluded that there were other non-discriminatory ways of achieving Nationwide’s aim for high standards of supervision including the claimant working from home and attending the office three days per week, as she had been doing.
At a remedy hearing earlier this year, for which a judgment has only recently been published, the judge ordered the organisation to pay Follows £345,708 in compensation, including awards loss of salary, bonus, pension contributions and other benefits, and an award for injury to feelings.
Nationwide has been contacted for comment.
Ella Bond, senior employment solicitor at Harper James, said the case should remind employers about the importance of handling return-to-office mandates and changes to working terms and conditions fairly.
“Employers should be prepared to document and substantiate with evidence the business case behind their decision to implement such changes. In this case, the judge found that Nationwide’s decision to make Ms Follows redundant lacked a rational basis and was instead driven by subjective impressions.
“Additionally, it is crucial for employers to recognise and address the impact of such proposed changes on individual employees, such as those with caring responsibilities. Protections contained in the Equality Act extend not only to employees with disabilities but also to those associated with individuals with disabilities, as was the case with Ms. Follows,” she said.
“The failure by Nationwide to adequately undertake these steps ultimately led to Ms Follows being successful in her claims for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination.”
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