New work from home rules in UK and employers can take staff to tribunal

James Rodger
·2-min read

Tribunal cases look set to rise as UK firms push back on remote working. Some employers and companies across the country are set to take staff to tribunals after a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) manager’s claim over working at home full-time, according to reports.

Elizabeth Wilson worked as a manager at the Financial Conduct Authority and had been working entirely from home since the Covid pandemic struck in early 2020. When the pandemic eased, the FCA began a policy of asking staff to come to the office two days a week.

In December 2022, Wilson submitted a flexible working request to continue working remotely every day, arguing that she had continued to be a high performer working this way. In early March 2023, she learnt that her request had been refused.

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Richard Fox, a partner at Keystone Law, told the Guardian today: “The FCA case was not binding but employers have felt it is an important case to consider. The issue is becoming a battleground and we advise employers to play it very carefully.” Many large corporations started to call for an end to the more flexible working patterns in the autumn in the wake of the Covid crisis.

“I would expect more tribunal cases on working from home,” said Jim Moore, an employee relations expert at Hamilton Nash. “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.”

Earlier this year, Ms Wilson then lodged a tribunal claim, claiming the FCA had not communicated the outcome of her appeal within the statutory decision period. She accused the regulator of rejecting her request because of “incorrect facts”.

The FCA warned several elements of her job meant working remotely would have a “detrimental impact” on performance. It included meeting and welcoming new staff, internal training, supervision and department needs, and attendance at in-person events, conferences, and planning and weekly meetings.

At tribunal, employment judge Robert Richter rejected the request and said it had not been based on incorrect facts. The judge Mr Richter said in his judgment: “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.”

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