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Camera off. Not a red flag. A reasonable adjustment.

Started by Amanda Opie
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350 points

Amanda Opie

First Lesson Complete 10+ Points Member for Over a Year

A recent employment tribunal ruling (Tait v Holiday Extras) found that forcing an employee with anxiety, ADHD and autism to keep her camera on, and refusing to give her more chat/email-based work - amounted to a failure to make reasonable adjustments.

It's a useful prompt to think about what "reasonable adjustments" actually look like in practice when someone is managing a mental health condition, whether they're returning to work after leave or working through it day to day. A few examples that come up often:

  • Flexibility on cameras and calls - the option to keep a camera off, or to swap a call for chat/email, without having to justify it every time•
  • Permanent, not just temporary, changes - a phased return is a start, but if someone's condition is long-term, the adjustment needs to be too
  • Workload shape, not just workload volume - changing how work is done (channel, pacing, structure) can matter as much as how much
  • Predictability - fixed days off, consistent shift patterns, less last-minute change
  • A genuine review process - adjustments that get revisited, not set once and forgotten
  • The tribunal was clear that this isn't a blanket ban on camera-on policies — it's about employers being willing to flex when there's a genuine disability and a genuine need. Blanket rules, applied without exception, are where the risk sits.

What adjustments have made the biggest difference for your team?

avatar-profile

350 points

A recent employment tribunal ruling (Tait v Holiday Extras) found that forcing an employee with anxiety, ADHD and autism to keep her camera on, and refusing to give her more chat/email-based work - amounted to a failure to make reasonable adjustments.

It's a useful prompt to think about what "reasonable adjustments" actually look like in practice when someone is managing a mental health condition, whether they're returning to work after leave or working through it day to day. A few examples that come up often:

  • Flexibility on cameras and calls - the option to keep a camera off, or to swap a call for chat/email, without having to justify it every time•
  • Permanent, not just temporary, changes - a phased return is a start, but if someone's condition is long-term, the adjustment needs to be too
  • Workload shape, not just workload volume - changing how work is done (channel, pacing, structure) can matter as much as how much
  • Predictability - fixed days off, consistent shift patterns, less last-minute change
  • A genuine review process - adjustments that get revisited, not set once and forgotten
  • The tribunal was clear that this isn't a blanket ban on camera-on policies — it's about employers being willing to flex when there's a genuine disability and a genuine need. Blanket rules, applied without exception, are where the risk sits.

What adjustments have made the biggest difference for your team?