An employment judge has made a groundbreaking ruling that excluding workmates from WhatsApp groups is a form of discrimination. Judge Sarah George awarded a plumber, Mark Brosnan, over £130,000 in compensation in a recent case. The judge emphasized that employees should be included in group chats, even if they are absent due to sickness or injury.

Sharing Important Information

Judge George found that the WhatsApp messages in question were used to share crucial health and safety information. Despite being off work with a back injury, Brosnan should have been included in the conversations. According to the judge, the company, Coalo, owned by Hounslow council in West London, wrongly assumed that Brosnan did not want to be involved in work-related matters while he was recuperating. The judge also stated that excluding him from the group was not a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

Compensation and Claims

Mark Brosnan, aged 60, injured his back in 2019. He claimed that Coalo did not provide him with the necessary support to prevent the injury from reoccurring, which it did in 2020. He ultimately resigned from his position in 2021 and has since won a claim for discrimination, victimization, and unfair dismissal. The tribunal in Watford awarded him a total of £134,411, including a significant sum of £15,000 for injury to his feelings.