London judge says IT director unfairly dismissed over request to attend important meeting by video call
The question of when working from home is acceptable – and when you really should be at an office desk – is becoming one of modern life’s conundrums.
An employment tribunal has suggested it may be OK to remain at home if you need to supervise workers, even if it means attending an important meeting remotely.
The thorny issue surfaced during a hearing into the case of an IT director who requested to attend a meeting by video call because gardeners were doing work at his home.
His boss was upset and questioned whether he was treating the meeting seriously, but the tribunal said his decision to stay at home did not constitute “blameworthy” behaviour.
The tribunal in Croydon, south London, heard that Ben Wicken had been scheduled to meet the managing director of the IT services company Akita Systems, Christophe Boudet, in person to attempt to resolve a disagreement.
Wicken asked if he could attend a mediation meeting on Teams. The tribunal ruling said: “The claimant [Wicken] called Mr Boudet and asked if they could move the meeting to a Teams meeting and change the time … as he needed to work from home for the rest of the week because he had work being done in the garden and so he would need to be there.”
Boudet was said to be “very disappointed” and told Wicken that it appeared he was not taking the process seriously, the tribunal was told.
At a follow-up mediation...
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