Scientist who wasn’t invited to her work Christmas party loses discrimination claim

A scientist who sued her work after she was not invited to the Christmas party has lost her claim.

Shelby Caughman had been signed off on sick leave when eight of her colleagues met up without her in 2024.

She told her employer, Echoes Ecology, that she had been too overwhelmed to return to work until January.

Caughman, 35, suffers from agoraphobia – an anxiety disorder that involves a fear of being in places where leaving might be difficult, like a crowded train.

She said that now inviting her to the party amounted to disability

But a tribunal heard that Caughman’s directors did not ask her to come as they worried it could cause her distress.

Caughman started working at Echoes Ecology, a protected species survey in Scotland, as a consultant ecologist in April 2023.

She made several complaints against Echoes Ecology, saying the company made few adjustments for her and caused ‘a build-up of work stress’.

According to tribunal papers, Caughman took a week off as Statutory Sick Pay due to her mental health in June 2024.

After agreeing to come back in phases, Caughman went on sick leave the following month and did not return until she resigned in February 2025.

During her time away, the directors pulled the plug on Shelby’s email in August 2024, the tribunal heard.

Bosses said Shelby should not be looking at work emails, as this may cause her stress, a decision Caughman disputed.

An occupational health report was commissioned, which detailed the adjustments Echoes Ecology would need to make for Caughman.

An occupational therapist said Shelby needed flexible working hours, noise-cancelling headphones and the option to work from home due to her disabilities, among other suggestions.

The report also said she would be ‘exempt’ from work meetings and social gatherings.

But Shelby questioned the findings, saying that ‘she did not consider that she was unappreciated, just that she struggled with communication’.

‘The claimant explained that she did not agree with the wording around exemption from meeting and social gatherings; she enjoys social gatherings and just wants a choice,’ the tribunal decision said.

Talks about her returning to work in December ended with Shelby emailing her directors to say she found the idea ‘overwhelming’.

Her directors said there was ‘no pressure’ for her to return and the tribunal was told she could move the date to New Year’s.

When Shelby realised she had not been invited to the Christmas do, she emailed her bosses to ask why.

Her manager said the call was based on the occupational health report and apologized.

A judge ruled that leaving Shelby off the guest list was discrimination, but it was ‘justified’ given her mental health at the time.

Shelby also unsuccessfully claimed for harassment, victimisation, reasonable adjustment and constructive dismissal.

Employment Judge Peter O’Donnell said: ‘[Echoes Ecology] clearly had the legitimate aim of seeking to avoid causing [Shelby] additional distress of inviting her to an event where it appeared that she did not wish to attend and would not be fit to do so.

‘The Tribunal accepts that it was not [Shelby’s] position that she did not wish to attend the Christmas night but the Tribunal also accepts that it was Echoes Ecology’s genuine belief that she did not, even if this was mistaken.

‘There was a factual basis for [Echoes Ecology’s] belief in the content of the OH report and there was nothing to contradict this.’

He added that a ‘reasonable employee’ would not consider being locked out of their emails a bad thing if they were sick off work.

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