A senior manager at the Financial Conduct Authority who wanted to work from home full-time has had her case thrown out by a judge who said remote technology cannot replace the “fast interplay” of the office.
Elizabeth Wilson, who earns around £140,000 a year, had sought to overturn her bosses’ decision on not being allowed to work exclusively from home.
Ms Wilson, in a case lodged at an employment tribunal in Croydon, south London, in December 2022, wanted to change her contract allowing her to work entirely remotely “without ever attending a physical office location”.
Citing her glowing performance reviews and “excellent technology” offered by the FCA, she told the panel that the supposed disadvantages of remote working were “not real”.
The tribunal heard her bosses had rejected her initial request, saying it could have a “detrimental impact” on her performance.
A letter explaining their decision reads: “You will not attend face to face training sessions, departmental away days/meetings, and you will not be able to provide face to face training or coaching to team members or new joiners.
“Your ability to input in Management strategy meetings and be involved in in-person collaboration will also be negatively impacted”.
Employment judge Robert Richter rejected her appeal to the decision saying there were “weaknesses with remote working”.
He said: “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.
“Similarly there is, as has been identified, a limitation to the ability to observe and respond to non-verbal communication which may arise outside of the context of formal events but which nonetheless forms an important part of working with other individuals.”