Latest news with #AkitaSystems
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Work from home is allowed to supervise your gardener, tribunal rules as company director wins £30,000 payout
Employees who ask to work from home because they are having work done on their garden should not be disciplined, a tribunal has ruled. IT director Ben Wicken had been scheduled to meet company founder Christophe Boudet in person to try to resolve a work disagreement, the employment tribunal heard. But the pair fell out when he asked to hold it instead via Teams - as his gardeners were due to come over and he needed to work from home for the rest of the week as a result. Mr Boudet told the tribunal he was 'very disappointed' by this as it made it seem as if Mr Wicken was not taking the process seriously. Shortly afterwards, his co-directors announced that they had 'lost trust and confidence' in the technical director, leading to his eventual resignation. Mr Wicken has won a £30,692 payout after winning his constructive dismissal case against IT services company Akita Systems. It is the latest in a series of bizarre office behaviours to be deemed lawful or unlawful by employment judges. Calling a man bald or sending an unwanted birthday card are among those that have been deemed unlawful but air kissing a colleague was allowed. The tribunal, held in Croydon, south London, heard that Mr Wicken began working at the company in March 2014 as a junior network manager and later became the technical director. In March 2022 he got into an argument with Mr Boudet about holiday cover. An external HR specialist, Maria Cruse, who witnessed the argument, offered to carry out mediation between the two directors to help them improve their communication. The tribunal heard their first mediation meeting went well and they continued to meet regularly. 'The next mediation meeting was due to take place on 3 May 2022,' the hearing was told, 'but [Mr Wicken] called Mr Boudet and asked if they could move the meeting to a Teams meeting and change the time to 11am as he needed to work from home for the rest of the week because he had work being done in the garden and so he would need to be there. 'The Tribunal accepts the evidence of Mr Boudet that he was very disappointed about this and told [Mr Wicken] that it appeared he was not taking the process seriously. [He] did then attend the office.' The tribunal heard that Mr Wicken felt 'attacked' during the meeting and broke down in tears following an 'off the record' discussion with his boss afterwards. He was asked to draft an 'improvement plan' for his relationship with the founder, which he described as a 'sham', before submitting a grievance which was later closed amid a row that the external HR consultant asked to investigate was a long-standing friend of Mr Boudet. This was the 'last straw' for Mr Wicken, who had been off sick for two months, and he chose to resign on 28 June instead of returning to Akita Systems. He listed the reasons for his resignation as conduct towards him since February, a 'sham' performance improvement plan, and the appointment of the consultant to investigate his grievance. The tribunal found Mr Wicken's treatment did lead to his constructive unfair dismissal, in particular comments made by Ms Cruse about his co-directors losing trust in him, the instructing of HR consultant, and the decision to close his grievance. Employment Judge Lisa Burge said that although Mr Wicken acknowledged that prioritising his gardener over the one-to-one meeting was a 'mistake' it wasn't 'blameworthy' on his part. She said: 'The tribunal concludes that [Mr Wick] did not contribute to his dismissal... '[Akita] submits that [Mr Wick] admitted that his decision to prioritise arrangements with his gardener over attendance at a one-to-one mediation follow-up meeting was a mistake and that he refused to cooperate with the grievance investigation. 'However, these actions, in the context of the facts found and detailed above, do not constitute 'culpable or blameworthy' conduct.'
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
It's okay to work from home to supervise gardeners, tribunal says
Employees should not be disciplined for working from home to supervise gardeners, a tribunal has ruled. While trying to hold an important meeting remotely so workers can supervise tradesmen might be a 'mistake', it is not necessarily 'blameworthy' conduct, the panel said. The ruling came in the case of an IT company director who argued with his boss after asking to move a planning meeting to the online app Teams because he was having 'work done' in his garden. Ben Wicken had been scheduled to meet Christophe Boudet, the founder of his company Akita Systems, in person to try to resolve a work disagreement, the employment tribunal heard. But he asked to hold it on Teams because he needed to work from home for the rest of the week. Mr Boudet told the tribunal he was 'very disappointed' by this because it made it seem as if Mr Wicken, the company's technical director, was not taking the process seriously. Shortly afterwards, his co-directors announced that they had 'lost trust and confidence' in Mr Wicken, leading to his eventual resignation. Mr Wicken is now set for a payout after winning his case against Akita Systems for constructive unfair dismissal. The tribunal, in Croydon, south London, heard Mr Wicken began working at the company in March 2014 as a junior network manager and later became technical director. In March 2022, he argued with Mr Boudet about holiday cover and the pair entered a mediation process. However, when a meeting was scheduled on May 3 2022, Mr Wicken rang to ask if it could be moved to Teams 'as he needed to work from home for the rest of the week because he had work being done in the garden and so he would need to be there', the tribunal said in its findings. 'The tribunal accepts the evidence of Mr Boudet that he was very disappointed about this and told [Mr Wicken] that it appeared he was not taking the process seriously. [He] did then attend the office,' the ruling went on. 'After lengthy discussion [he] conceded that in hindsight he should have communicated better with Mr Boudet and he should have attended the office for the 1:1 meeting.' The tribunal heard that Mr Wicken felt 'attacked' during the meeting and broke down in tears following an 'off the record' discussion with his boss afterwards. Subsequently, Mr Wicken agreed to draft an 'improvement plan' for his relationship with the founder. However, it was considered that his plan did not address the key issues around his capacity as a technical director, and Mr Wicken was told the directors of the company had a 'unanimous view' that they had lost trust and confidence in him. Two days later, Mr Wicken submitted a grievance, claiming that Akita had 'unambiguously announced' its intention to dismiss him before any process had been followed. David Charity, an external HR consultant, was appointed to investigate but he was also a longstanding friend of Mr Boudet. Mr Wicken said instructing him was therefore 'unfair and pointless'. A lengthy process then followed between Mr Wicken's solicitors and Mr Charity. Eventually, Mr Charity unilaterally closed Mr Wicken's grievance because he had failed to 'actively pursue' it. This was the 'last straw' for Mr Wicken, who had been off sick for two months, and he chose to resign on June 28 instead of returning to Akita. He listed the reasons for his resignation as conduct towards him since February, a 'sham' performance improvement plan, and the appointment of Mr Charity to investigate his grievance. The tribunal found Mr Wicken's treatment did lead to his constructive unfair dismissal. Lisa Burge, the employment judge, said that although Mr Wicken acknowledged prioritising his gardener over the one- to-one meeting was a 'mistake', it was not 'blameworthy' on his part. She said: 'The tribunal concludes that [Mr Wicken] did not contribute to his dismissal... '[Akita] submits that [Mr Wicken] admitted that his decision to prioritise arrangements with his gardener over attendance at a one-to-one mediation follow-up meeting was a mistake and that he refused to cooperate with the grievance investigation. 'However, these actions, in the context of the facts found and detailed above, do not constitute 'culpable or blameworthy' conduct.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
27-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
It's okay to work from home to supervise gardeners, tribunal says
Employees should not be disciplined for working from home to supervise gardeners, a tribunal has ruled. While trying to hold an important meeting remotely so workers can supervise tradesmen might be a 'mistake', it is not necessarily 'blameworthy' conduct, the panel said. The ruling came in the case of an IT company director who argued with his boss after asking to move a planning meeting to the online app Teams because he was having 'work done' in his garden. Ben Wicken had been scheduled to meet Christophe Boudet, the founder of his company Akita Systems, in person to try to resolve a work disagreement, the employment tribunal heard. But he asked to hold it on Teams because he needed to work from home for the rest of the week. 'Not taking process seriously' Mr Boudet told the tribunal he was 'very disappointed' by this because it made it seem as if Mr Wicken, the company's technical director, was not taking the process seriously. Shortly afterwards, his co-directors announced that they had 'lost trust and confidence' in Mr Wicken, leading to his eventual resignation. Mr Wicken is now set for a payout after winning his case against Akita Systems for constructive unfair dismissal. The tribunal, in Croydon, south London, heard Mr Wicken began working at the company in March 2014 as a junior network manager and later became technical director. In March 2022, he argued with Mr Boudet about holiday cover and the pair entered a mediation process. However, when a meeting was scheduled on May 3 2022, Mr Wicken rang to ask if it could be moved to Teams 'as he needed to work from home for the rest of the week because he had work being done in the garden and so he would need to be there', the tribunal said in its findings. 'The tribunal accepts the evidence of Mr Boudet that he was very disappointed about this and told [Mr Wicken] that it appeared he was not taking the process seriously. [He] did then attend the office,' the ruling went on. 'After lengthy discussion [he] conceded that in hindsight he should have communicated better with Mr Boudet and he should have attended the office for the 1:1 meeting.' The tribunal heard that Mr Wicken felt 'attacked' during the meeting and broke down in tears following an 'off the record' discussion with his boss afterwards. Subsequently, Mr Wicken agreed to draft an 'improvement plan' for his relationship with the founder. However, it was considered that his plan did not address the key issues around his capacity as a technical director, and Mr Wicken was told the directors of the company had a 'unanimous view' that they had lost trust and confidence in him. Two days later, Mr Wicken submitted a grievance, claiming that Akita had 'unambiguously announced' its intention to dismiss him before any process had been followed. Consultant appointment 'unfair and pointless' David Charity, an external HR consultant, was appointed to investigate but he was also a longstanding friend of Mr Boudet. Mr Wicken said instructing him was therefore 'unfair and pointless'. A lengthy process then followed between Mr Wicken's solicitors and Mr Charity. Eventually, Mr Charity unilaterally closed Mr Wicken's grievance because he had failed to 'actively pursue' it. This was the 'last straw' for Mr Wicken, who had been off sick for two months, and he chose to resign on June 28 instead of returning to Akita. He listed the reasons for his resignation as conduct towards him since February, a 'sham' performance improvement plan, and the appointment of Mr Charity to investigate his grievance. The tribunal found Mr Wicken's treatment did lead to his constructive unfair dismissal. Lisa Burge, the employment judge, said that although Mr Wicken acknowledged prioritising his gardener over the one- to-one meeting was a 'mistake', it was not 'blameworthy' on his part. She said: 'The tribunal concludes that [Mr Wicken] did not contribute to his dismissal... '[Akita] submits that [Mr Wicken] admitted that his decision to prioritise arrangements with his gardener over attendance at a one-to-one mediation follow-up meeting was a mistake and that he refused to cooperate with the grievance investigation. 'However, these actions, in the context of the facts found and detailed above, do not constitute 'culpable or blameworthy' conduct.'
The Guardian
27-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
It's OK to work from home to supervise gardeners, employment tribunal rules
The question of when working from home is acceptable – and when you really should be at an office desk – is becoming one of modern life's conundrums. An employment tribunal has suggested it may be OK to remain at home if you need to supervise workers, even if it means attending an important meeting remotely. The thorny issue surfaced during a hearing into the case of an IT director who requested to attend a meeting by video call because gardeners were doing work at his home. His boss was upset and questioned whether he was treating the meeting seriously, but the tribunal said his decision to stay at home did not constitute 'blameworthy' behaviour. The tribunal in Croydon, south London, heard that Ben Wicken had been scheduled to meet the managing director of the IT services company Akita Systems, Christophe Boudet, in person to attempt to resolve a disagreement. Wicken asked if he could attend a mediation meeting on Teams. The tribunal ruling said: 'The claimant [Wicken] called Mr Boudet and asked if they could move the meeting to a Teams meeting and change the time … as he needed to work from home for the rest of the week because he had work being done in the garden and so he would need to be there.' Boudet was said to be 'very disappointed' and told Wicken that it appeared he was not taking the process seriously, the tribunal was told. At a follow-up mediation meeting, an external human resources professional questioned Wicken's desire to prioritise working from home to 'sort out' his gardeners rather than going into the office for the one-to-one meeting. Initially, the tribunal heard, Wicken could not understand what he had done wrong but then conceded 'in hindsight' he should have communicated better with Boudet. Wicken felt 'attacked' at the meeting and told Boudet he thought he was 'undervalued' before breaking down in tears. The human resources professional later told him the directors of the company had lost trust and confidence in him, and he resigned the following month. The tribunal found fault in elements of the way Wicken's case had been handled and said it amounted to unfair dismissal. The employment judge Lisa Burge added that Wicken had not contributed to his dismissal. She said: 'The respondent [Akita] submits that the claimant admitted that his decision to prioritise arrangements with his gardener over attendance at a one-to-one mediation follow-up meeting was a mistake and that he refused to cooperate with the grievance investigation. 'However, these actions, in the context of the facts found and detailed, do not constitute 'culpable or blameworthy' conduct.'
