Remote row | London-based manager unfairly sacked after Cornwall WFH dispute

A security manager dismissed for working remotely from Cornwall has won his claim for unfair dismissal, after a tribunal ruled his employer failed to conduct a fair investigation.

Nick Kitaruth, who worked for OCS Security at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster, was sacked for gross misconduct after being found to have carried out no work between August 14-17tb 2023, while working remotely from 200 miles away. 

However, an employment tribunal in London found that OCS’s investigation process was flawed and failed to account for the informal nature of its remote working arrangements.

Background of the case

Kitaruth had a longstanding verbal agreement with his line manager, Craig Stride, allowing occasional remote work. The tribunal heard that while the company had a homeworking policy, arrangements were typically made informally without written approval.