Socially-anxious scientist who sued because she was not invited to Christmas party while off sick loses claim | Daily Mail Online
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15501349/Socially-anxious-colleague-work-Christmas-party-discrimination.html
Posted by CasualSmurf
43 Comments
Can’t be that socially anxious if she’s up for suing over some nonsense.
Suing her workplace isn’t going to help her anxiety levels…
Why would you invite someone to a party that is off sick…
“Ms Caughman, who suffers from agoraphobia – a condition involving fear of leaving home or being in crowded places – tried to claim that being excluded from the eight-person work party amounted to disability discrimination.”
Did she expect it to take place in her house? Name a single job which guarantees you a Christmas party. Probably lead to someone suing as they didn’t bring in cakes for their birthday.
Shit like this is probably why they didn’t invite her in the first place
>The report also stated that she wanted to be exempt from team meetings and social gatherings so that she could miss them.
>After the report was produced, Ms Caughman clarified in a meeting that she did not agree with the wording around exemption from meeting and social gatherings because she enjoyed social gatherings and ‘just wanted a choice’.
Either you’re well enough to do these things, or you’re not. “Just wanting a choice” is not a medical condition lol. What a chancer.
What a joy it must be to have to deal with these people. She’s a grifter and I hope any future potential employers are all aware of her.
between a rock and a hard place for the employers
should never have come to a tribunal tbh as things like this can easily be talked out to clear up any misunderstandings
“Ms Caughman also unsuccessfully claimed for harassment, victimisation, reasonable adjustment and constructive dismissal.”
You’d think she’d have got one of them to stick!
>The tribunal ruled that not inviting Ms Caughman to the Christmas party was discrimination, but it was a ‘justified’ reaction to her comments about her mental health at the time.
It’s actually alarming that they ruled it is discrimination (albeit justified).
Edit – thanks for the clarification all. Learned something new today.
She went off sick from July and never returned to work. If a colleague of mine disappeared in July and I never heard from them after that I probably wouldnt invite them to a party either
She chanced her arm at getting a wad of cash, instead she has become unemployable. Just a quick google search at the check stage will render her unemployed for a while. Still she doesnt like leaving the house so might suit her.
In my experience, Shelbys are to be avoided in the workplace in all circumstances. *shudders*
>An occupational health report was made by an occupational therapist, which claimed that Ms Caughman needed adjustments to be made to allow her return because of her disabilities, like flexible working hours and being able to work from home.
>The report also stated that **she wanted to be exempt from team meetings and social gatherings** so that she could miss them.
I would argue that asking to be exempt from social gatherings, then suing for not being invited to a social gathering, is a bold move.
I never get invited to the work party and I’m fit and health!
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That’s lovely isn’t it? Poetic even. And how do you feel now socially anxious scientist? Lol grow up.
Does anyone know the real story? Rather than the fake Daily Mail shit designed as propoganda against mental health concerns?
Here’s me not being able to think of a suitable excuse to miss the party
What’s sad about this is the whole thing arose from her colleagues trying to do the right thing. She wasn’t invited because they feared it might make matters worse for her.
Their reward for trying to do the best for her was ending up at a tribunal.
They sure as hell won’t make that mistake again.
However if I was off sick I would have felt bad for being invited as if I went surely it would raise eyebrows since I was off sick? Unless it was organised months before and I had since returned but then most places allow for the odd last minute adjustment.
This seems ridiculous to take it to court.
No! I didn’t read the article it’s the express ,and nonsense about nonsense.
What socially anxious person wants to go to a Christmas party?
What a fantastic life to be living, when your only concern is the office christmas party. Bizarre.
And these are the stories they run with to diminish people with actual problems
If you’re off sick why would you then be attending a works do ? Not sending an invite makes sense
She sounds like a complete nightmare for an employer.
Not really helping the “Americans look to sue for literally anything” stereotype.
The gofund me to get her UK citizenship so she can be “as Scottish as I already feel i am in my heart” is also hilarious.
I have social anxiety but have coping mechanisms. I would probably feel sensitive/paranoid about not being invited out, but I certainly wouldn’t sue over it.
Her social media doesn’t give the impression of agoraphobia…
That’s a ridiculous reason to sue. I wasn’t invited a a work do while off and on ill because they decided I didn’t want to come…. I just decided they were jerks rather than suing anyone.
The company can’t win with people like this. If they invited her she would try suing them for bullying as they were aware she is agoraphobic and suffers from social anxiety. People like this will ALWAYS find a reason to complain.
Hmmm, I have had periods of extreme agoraphobia and it is isolating. I understand how lack on invitation could have made her feel more isolated at a difficult time. Although I also understand the decision
It seems like they actually had her best interests at heart according to the article.
Being an ecologist usually means looking at nature in person outside. A consultant ecologist is more desk based but unlikely to be 100%
I did it for 2 years and probably spent about 2 days a month in the office. What a strange story.
Almost the definition of damned if you do, damned if you don’t here.
In simple terms
I haven’t contributed anything to the project but I would still like you to budget to take me out to celebrate.
I feel like things like this harm workers especially those with extra needs in the workplace.
This is a small business at the end of the day and they have had to burn countless hours jumping through hoops to accommodate someone who has no inclination to do any work and then throws a strop when they dont get invited to a party for a completely rational reason
As someone socially anxious I would love not to be invited to the Christmas party.
It’s not up to her employer to decide whether or not she is able to come to the party.
She should have been invited and allowed to make the decision.
If the company arranged a hiking trip and you didn’t invite the person in a wheel chair would it be discrimination?
In this case they did find the employer’s actions discriminatory but didn’t punish the company because it wasn’t done with malice. They thought not inviting her was the right thing.
This sub posts about how terrible Reform are all the time then they take Daily Mail headlines as gospel. Yous are part of the problem if you insist on falling for outrage bait headlines time after time.
You just know this lady is insufferable to work with.
Considering where I work the policy is inclusion, attending social events when off sick is encouraged if people want to. This ensures they still feel part of the team, and there’s no silliness with “oh but they can’t be sick they were well enough to come out” nonsense. As a manager who works with people who have a range of reasons, including mental health and anxiety, to be signed off work this doesn’t feel frivolous in the least.
If I’d missed someone I’d be incredibly apologetic and acknowledge I fucked up. In fact I’d probably want to invite by contacting them in person (via a route we had agreed to be most suitable) to ensure they knew they were welcome, and that there was no pressure at all to attend,to avoid any chance of stress, miscommunication, or missing invitations via a work platform they would not be checking while off sick, as well as whether any alternative option would be more suitable like a smaller group team coffee or lunch.
She was excluded due to being off work. That very much did happen. I don’t think it should have, and when people are excluded disproportionately related to protected characteristics, I think that is important to highlight. The patronising ableism of deciding that a disability meant that choice should be made for her, robbing her of agency, is inappropriate even if done with the best of intentions. This is why we have policies around these things. Honestly I’m saddened that the claim was lost, not because anyone did anything bad or should be punished, but because validation and legal precedent are really important in these areas.
What’s the fact that she’s a scientist got to do with anything?
If she was off sick for mental health then I think it makes sense to be invited to the party, but can you sue for people being thoughtless? If so, I’d be rich lol