Anxious remote worker wins lawsuit after company forced her to turn camera on during video call

She’s refused to be on screen. Now, she’s raking in the green.  

Money will soon be zooming to Laura Tait’s front door as the “anxious” work-from-home travel consultant has successfully sued her ex-employer for forcing her to be on camera during a business video call, infringing on her disability rights. 

An employment tribunal, held in South London, recently ruled Tait’s former company, Holiday Extras, a vacation ancillary service, failed to adequately provide “reasonable adjustments” to suit her anxiety, including the “ability to join meetings with camera off” and allowing her to do fewer voice calls during the workday, per reports. 

The court has deemed the misstep a form of disability discrimination under UK employment law, awarding Tait an undetermined amount in compensation.  

The remote travel pro, who was hired with Holiday Extras’ call center in June 2021, reportedly informed the job that work-induced stress had triggered a string of “absences related to her anxiety” by April 2022. The reoccurring absences continued until Tait officially requested “emergency time off” due to “burn out.”

In July 2023, the struggling staffer told a new line manager that “the only thing that would help her” would be to undertake more live chat and email shifts, rather than telephone or video call duties — even though her role required frequent customer service calls. 

Executives allegedly told Tait she “could not be scheduled more chats and emails than average due to fairness and workloads,” but would be accommodated wherever possible.

Unfortunately, the seemingly sweet deal was shortlived. 

During a remote training session on August 24, 2023, Tait reportedly felt “super anxious” and requested permission to remain off camera for the meeting. Despite the plea, she was “asked to start with it on and to see how she went.”

“However, she was not able to cope and so she was told that was fine and to log off.”

Tait was ultimately granted sick leave in October 2023, owing to work-related stress and anxiety, and has not yet returned. 

Her discrimination accusation came in April 2024, nearly a year after she was urged to join the training on camera. The grievance, however, was dismissed that October, and her appeal against this decision was not granted.

But the tides still turned in Tait’s favor. 

Employment Judge Liz Ord said, “[Holiday Extras] did not allow the requested adjustment on August 24, 2023, when they were first made aware of [Ms Tait] being overwhelmed.”

“However, they did not require her to come on camera thereafter and [the COO] formally agreed to the adjustment on October 4, 2024,” added the jurist. “Nonetheless, we take the view that the adjustment was reasonable and should have been put in place from August 24. 2023.”

The judge determined that Tait was left with “substantial disadvantages in the workplace” due to the company’s failure to make reasonable adjustments.

Tait’s compensation will be decided at a later date. 

The WFH winner isn’t the only 9-to-5er to, literally, grow sick and tired of the demanding daily grind. 

Annie Surman, 28, a Columbia graduate who suffered from “anxiety and depression resulting from extreme work stress,” tragically committed suicide due to corporate changes at NYC data storage firm, MongoDB. 

And while the pressures of work don’t widely lead to lawsuits and self-harm, a vast majority of hustlers and bustlers are fighting to preserve their sanity every day.   

Shocking new data revealed that 80% of employees feel their jobs are responsible for their poor mental health, with nearly 40% abruptly abandoning their posts in response to the burden. 

“Job-dropping (or deliberately looking for a role with less pressure and fewer responsibilities) is an enticing prospect for a lot of people, for various reasons,” said the study’s author. “Stressful, high-pressure work might have led to burnout and [a] negative impact on their mental health.”

“While a promotion and a bigger title might often be associated with success, lots of people are making decisions for their own wellbeing that might look, from the outside, like a step down.”