By Minami Kanesawa, Co-founder of  WFH Jobs

A recent Employment Tribunal ruling found that mandating that employees keep their cameras on during meetings may amount to disability discrimination – and leave employers liable for damages.

In that case, a travel consultant with anxiety was told to keep her camera on during a remote training session, felt “overwhelmed” and had to log off. The tribunal found her employer should have allowed the camera-off adjustment straight away.

Remote work is now firmly established, but many employers are tightening the rules around how it’s done, from camera-on mandates to pushback on home working itself. Recently, reports that Members of the Scottish Parliament were told to avoid regular remote working except in the most serious circumstances.

However, some of these policies carry legal risk employers may not be aware of. For businesses that manage remote or hybrid staff, several common remote work policies could leave them facing scrutiny by the Employment Tribunal.

1. Blanket return-to-office mandate: While there have been several high-profile return-to-office mandates over the past year, researchers have found that employees are still resistant to five-day return-to-office requirements. And blanket office requirements could create legal challenges for employees. If the return-to-office mandate disadvantages disabled employees, it could amount to indirect discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, unless the employer can objectively justify it.

2. Handling of flexible-working requests: All employees have had the right to request flexible working from day one since April 2024. Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, employers rejecting a request on business grounds will, from 2027, have to provide written explanations for refusal. Employers can refuse the request for eight specific business reasons, including the burden of additional costs or if the company will be unable to share the remaining work among existing staff. Employees can make two requests in any 12-month period.

3. Rigid communication-format rules. A camera-on meeting policy, mandating voice calls, live video, or using a particular channel need to account for workers disabilities, and failure to make reasonable adjustments can create issues for employers. Refusing alternatives such as email or live chat can be considered a failure to make reasonable adjustments where a worker’s disability makes one format harder.

4. Employee monitoring software. Using employee monitoring software like keystroke logging and activity trackers for remote workers can raise data-protection issues under UK GDPR. While employers can legally use monitoring software for remote workers, there are strict rule surrounding their use. Employers should be able to demonstrate that any monitoring serves a legitimate purpose such as ensuring productivity or safeguarding employee safety. Employers should clearly outline in employment contracts and remote working policies if they are being monitored and what is being tracked.