Former Nationwide boss receives £350,000 payout after bosses end staff working from home

A Nationwide manager who lost her job when the building society decided to cut staff working from home has been awarded almost £350,000 in compensation.

Jayne Follows had a schedule that allowed her to be in the office up to three times a week and spend the rest of the time at home to care for her disabled mother, an employment tribunal in central London was told.

But the “telework” contracts were later halted after concerns about problems supervising junior employees when managers were not in the office.

Ms Follows was sacked from her £75,000-a-year job when she refused to end her remote working arrangement and sued the construction company for unfair dismissal, disability and sex discrimination.

She has now been awarded £345,708 in compensation after the tribunal found Nationwide’s decision to end remote working was based on “subjective impressions”.

Ms Follows, who was employed as a senior loan officer (SLM), has been fighting a legal battle since her dismissal in 2018.

The court heard she joined Nationwide in 2011 and was considered a “high-level employee” by her bosses.

But a decision in October 2017 to cut four SLMs and eliminate telework, partly because of concerns raised by junior staff about a lack of supervision, led to her leaving her post.

Tony Alexander, Nationwide’s chief commercial officer, said: “We were convinced we needed a greater presence in the office,” he said.

“It’s so much better if they sit next to each other.”

After being informed that her job was under threat on October 16, 2017, she was fired in January 2018.

Prior to that, she had refused to stop working from home and accused her bosses of “trying to change my working conditions” in a formal complaint.

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Ms Follows also sent a counter-proposal upon request, saying: “My counter-proposal is to continue with my current telework arrangement and this will never be supported on the basis of unsupported and non-existent ‘business needs’.

“By stating the business needs to “have more SLMs available on site more regularly” and confirming my (boss) negative stance on flexible working, you have removed all my options.”

She had argued that the decision to lay off home workers was taken “on the back of a packet of cigarettes”.

A Nationwide spokesperson said: “Nationwide prides itself on being an inclusive and supportive employer. However, we accept the court’s decision.”

Court decision

The tribunal, presided over by employment judge Mark Emery, upheld most of Ms Follows’ claims.

She said: “(Nationwide) was unable to demonstrate that its rationale for eliminating the telework positions was evidence-based. We concluded that this decision was based on the view of senior management that the telework positions should be eliminated, that it would be ‘better’ to do so, rather than on any analysis of the business needs for on-site SLM or any consideration of an alternative approach.

“(Nationwide) has not suggested that it had considered the balance between the clearly discriminatory effect of the requirement on (Ms Follows) and the business needs of the sales department. We have accepted that (Nationwide) took the decision to eliminate the remote SLM positions on the basis of some dissatisfaction expressed by some junior staff and a management view that it would be ‘better’ to make the change.

“The evidence and Ms Follows’ employment record at least suggested that any supervisory issues were not the result of staff on telework contracts. In other words, Nationwide’s opinion was not based on actual evidence or rational judgment, but rather on subjective impressions.”

Unfair dismissal

In the UK, the laws on unfair dismissal are set out in the Employment Rights Act 1996. These laws protect employees from unfair dismissal. To be eligible for this protection, employees must have worked for their employer for at least two years.

Unfair dismissal can occur in a number of ways, including without just cause, for discrimination or failure to follow proper procedures. In cases of unfair dismissal, employees have the right to file a complaint with an employment tribunal.

If the court finds that an employee has been unfairly dismissed, it may order the employer to pay compensation or reinstate the employee in their previous position. The amount of compensation awarded will depend on a number of factors, including the employee’s length of service and salary.