Judge says demand for claimant living with clinically vulnerable girlfriend to go back the workplace when government guidance said otherwise was unreasonable
An employee at an asset management firm was unfairly and wrongfully dismissed for refusing to return to the office because of fears over contracting the virus during the pandemic, a tribunal has ruled.
Nicholas Quelch, who worked as a compliance analyst at Courtiers Support Services, was dismissed from his role after he didn’t return to work because he was shielding. The company terminated his employment, citing the reason that he had broken his contract.
However, the employment tribunal found that it was “not reasonable” to demand an employee return to the office when the government’s Covid guidance at the time said employees who could do – as Quelch had shown he was able to – should work from home.
Quelch started discussing working from home with Courtiers when the coronavirus first emerged, and subsequently transitioned to remote working on 18 March. The tribunal heard he lived in a one-bedroom flat with his girlfriend, who was classified as ‘clinically vulnerable’ to the virus because she had asthma and a heart condition.
His colleagues also moved to remote working on 23 March after the government guidance that people should work from home where possible was introduced. The tribunal heard that, while some colleagues had problems working from home, Quelch’s line manager, Stuart Richards, said he was working...
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