Starling Bank | £1m payout for asthmatic lawyer sacked after taking time off sick and asking to WFH

An asthmatic lawyer, who was sacked after taking time off sick and asking to work from home, has been awarded more than £1.1 million by an employment judge.

Gulnaz Raja had previously won a disability discrimination claim against her former employer, Starling Bank, and has now been awarded the seven-figure sum.

An employment tribunal held last year heard Raja’s career was “thrown severely off course” after she was sacked by boss Matt Newman - a proponent of staff working long hours in the office.

But rather than taking part in this culture of long hours, Raja would reportedly leave work at the time stated in her contract, and arrive five minutes before board meetings. By comparison, her boss Newman would arrive 45 minutes before meetings would start.