An employment tribunal ruling suggests that telling employees to keep their cameras on during online meetings can amount to disability discrimination.
In a ruling given in the case of a travel consultant, Laura Tait, who successfully sued her employer, Holiday Extras, an employment judge agreed that workers could feel “anxious” or “overwhelmed” when their cameras are on. Employers enforcing such a rule could be liable to pay them damages.
It is important to note the tribunal did not decide that a general employer policy requiring cameras to be on during Teams or Zoom meetings is automatically unlawful” – Adam Parsons, Birketts LLP
Ms Tait’s anxiety, ADHD and autism meant she was better able to work through webchat and email than on telephone and video calls, the tribunal heard.
The tribunal was told: “On 24 August 2023 [Ms Tait] was doing a remote training session by video and asked to have her camera off as she felt ‘super anxious’.
“She was asked to start with it on and to see how she went. However, she was not able to cope and so she was told that was fine and to log off.”
Ms Tait, who remains employed by the travel insurance provider, succeeded in claims that the company failed to make reasonable adjustments after repeatedly refusing to provide her with a higher proportion of chat and email work on a permanent basis.
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