Social gatherings | How a decision not to invite an employee to a work Christmas party ends lead to a tribunal

A socially anxious ecologist who brought disability discrimination claims after being excluded from a work Christmas night out has lost her case, with an employment tribunal finding that her employer’s actions were justified.

A hearing in Scotland dismissed all claims brought by Shelby Caughman against Echoes Ecology, concluding that while her exclusion from the festive gathering amounted to unfavourable treatment, it was objectively justified and did not cross the legal threshold into discrimination.