Employee wins lawsuit against company that forced her to turn on camera in video calls, will receive compensation

A remote travel consultant has won a legal victory against her former employer after the company insisted she turn on her camera during video calls, despite her suffering from anxiety. A South London employment tribunal ruled that the company, Holiday Extras, failed to provide reasonable adjustments for her condition, deeming the conduct discriminatory.

Laura Tait began working for Holiday Extras in June 2021. By April 2022, she had informed the company that work-related stress had caused several anxiety-related absences. These difficulties persisted, leading her to request sick leave due to exhaustion. In July 2023, Tait explained to her supervisor that focusing on live chat and email support, rather than phone or video calls, would help her manage her condition, even though her role required frequent client interaction.

According to British media reports, executives responded that accommodating more chat and email work than usual would raise equity and workload issues. They assured her they would try to offer support when possible. The situation escalated on August 24, 2023, during a remote training session. Tait expressed severe anxiety and asked to remain off-camera, but she was asked to start with her camera on to assess her performance. She was unable to proceed under these conditions and was told she could log off.

In October 2023, Tait took sick leave due to work-related stress and anxiety and had not returned to her duties at the time of the ruling. She filed a discrimination complaint in April 2024, which was initially rejected, and her subsequent appeal also failed at that stage. However, the employment tribunal later intervened. Judge Liz Ord stated that Holiday Extras "did not authorize the adjustment requested on August 24, 2023," despite being aware of Tait's distress. The tribunal determined that the lack of adequate accommodations placed Tait at "substantial disadvantages in the workplace," concluding that disability discrimination had occurred under employment law.