Employment Law - Policy, Case Law & Updates

Sacked for not turning up for a Disciplinary on Teams

The Mirror reported a concierge was sacked after he couldn't understand how to use Microsoft Teams.

It continues:

"The Claimant was called to a disciplinary hearing as the pandemic hit and was invited to attend a Microsoft Teams hearing on March 31, 2020.

"He expressed his anxiety was so bad he even had thoughts of taking his own life."

The Tribunal held:

"The Respondent prepared a Microsoft Teams invitation whereby a hyperlink was sent by email."

"This email did not give any instructions as to how to join. Microsoft Teams could be accessed via the internet by clicking the link."

"We accept the Claimant did not know what Microsoft Teams was, he did not have a camera on his desktop computer and could not connect."

"This was week two of the first pandemic lockdown. Many people did not know at that stage about Microsoft Teams and had not used it."

"Another Teams link was sent to him. [He was warned] if he did not attend without reasonable cause or explanation then a decision may be taken in his absence."

"We have concluded that there was a substantial difference between his ability to respond to the connection difficulties and a non-disabled person's."

"It was a substantial difference because his extreme anxiety was very much part of the reason why he did not try to find an alternative way to attend the hearing on the day."

"A non-disabled person would not have had this additional mental obstacle."

"The Tribunal held that the Respondent 'ought to have known' his anxiety was a factor in him not contacting them about Teams and concluded they were unreasonable in proceeding in his absence and not rescheduling a third hearing by phone."

Read the judgement here.

In The NEWS! Care workers could get jobs back after being dismissed

After the government u-turn on compulsory vaccinations for Care workers repeals its mandate on Covid-19 jabs for the sector, don't be surprised if your ex-member of staff asks for their job back!

What if you've replaced them or don't want them back?

Our Director of Legal Services Nikki, says "its been a difficult time for the sector, which has already seen a skills shortage for a number of years. The question really is how many former employees will want to come back?"