Analysis by Hamilton Nash of employment tribunal data has found that cases relating to remote working in the employment tribunal increased by 56% between 2021 - 2022. Whilst the numbers in relative terms remain low, increasing by 15 from 27 to 42 during the period in question, the early figures for 2023 point to a further increase to a new record high.
According to Jim Moore from Hamilton Nash: "I would expect more tribunal cases on working from home. We’re seeing significant tensions between flexible working requests from people keen to secure their hybrid arrangements and employers pushing people back into the office."
The level of push back against remote working is on the increase, especially following the Judgment by the Employment Tribunal in the case of Wilson v Financial Conduct Authority (2023), in which the Tribunal held that the employer was entitled to reject the employee's request to work full-time from home.
In refusing the request for remote working in the Wilson case, the employer had stated: "Approving this request could have a detrimental impact on performance or quality of output." In its judgment, the Tribunal stated that it was "satisfied that [the employer] was.....right to identify weaknesses with remote working. It is the experience of many who work using technology that it is not well suited to the fast paced interplay of exchanges which occur in, for example, planning meetings or training events when rapid discussion can occur on topics. Similarly there is, as has been identified, a limitation to the ability to observe and respond to non-verbal communication which may arise outside of the context of formal events but which nonetheless forms an important part of working with other individuals. This is particularly so when considering the senior position held by the Claimant."
It should be noted, however, that as a decision by an employment tribunal at first instance, the Wilson judgment sets no precedent and each case will turn on its own facts.
