Equality Act | WFH refusal for employee with agoraphobia was disability discrimination, tribunal rules

An employer may breach the Equality Act if it refuses homeworking arrangements for employees with conditions such as agoraphobia without properly considering reasonable adjustments, an employment tribunal has found.

The ruling came in the case of Marina Dudding, a housing allocation officer at Gravesham Borough Council, whose request to work from home two days a week - following an absence linked to anxiety, depression and agoraphobia - was rejected.

The tribunal found the council’s refusal to reinstate hybrid working amounted to a failure to make reasonable adjustments, discrimination arising from disability, indirect disability discrimination and unfair dismissal.

Background to the claim

Ms Dudding had worked for the council since 2000 and had been working under a hybrid arrangement since 2021 following a workplace stress risk assessment. In March 2023, she went on sick leave with work-related stress, anxiety and high blood pressure.