A Scottish Government employee has won the first stage of his employment tribunal fight after being refused permission to work from home because of a social phobia.

John-Paul Pryce was employed as an administrative case officer for the government-funded Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) in 2008 which involved him going into the office.

He worked remotely during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic but was asked to return on site in 2022.

He submitted a flexible working request to continue working from home but framed his request emphasising the benefits to his employers because he was embarrassed to admit he had a fear of groups of people, which had worsened during the pandemic.

He wrote: "I have no distractions of background noise, do not need to try and feign interest in what other people did with their weekend or watched on TV the previous night etc.

"There is no work task which I cannot do far better without the distractions of a toxic, open plan work environment."

The claimant's wife told the tribunal that - like others - her husband had become obsessed with hand washing and avoiding contact with others during the pandemic and had stayed in an "on edge state" after having a severe bout of Covid himself.

He claimed he had stopped socialising with friends or going on holidays and only left the house for activities he considers to be essential, such as shopping and visiting his elderly parents.

His GP advised that he should be allowed to work from home if possible due to a provisional diagnosis of social anxiety and mysophobia (a fear of dirt and contamination) which was made by a mental health practitioner over the phone.

He said his patient was extremely anxious because his employers were "putting pressure on him to work on site".

The doctor said that prior to the the pandemic he had been able to work in the office but did not wish to engage in "any sort of therapy" including medication which could help him to return to a more active life.

Mr Pryce told the tribunal that his mother was agoraphobic and had OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and as a child he was frightened of germs, viruses and illnesses.

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He said that while he had not received a formal diagnosis he had scored highly on an Autism Spectrum online test.

A preliminary hearing ruled that his symptoms should be classed as a disability under equality laws.

Judge Hendry described the claimant as a credible and reliable witness.

He said his case was "not particularly well assisted" by medical evidence but the claimant had "an entrenched phobia and the impact was clear".

However, he added: "It is only fair to caution the claimant that his position is a radical one namely that he should not be required in the future to attend work for any purpose.

"He said that he would not take treatment as he was fearful that he would be prescribed the sort of medication his mother was prescribed many years ago which he believed was detrimental to her.

"I am sure that there have been many advances in such medications which alleviate anxiety and might with other therapies address his phobia.

"I would urge him to contact the counselling service which I understand the respondents operate and discuss what assistance is open to him which might ameliorate the situation he currently finds himself in."

A further hearing will establish if the Scottish Government failed to make reasonable adjustments by allowing the claimant to work from home.

According to a survey by Owl Labs, 70% of UK managers have allowed team members to work from home, despite an official company policy mandating otherwise.

The phenomenon has given rise to a new term - "hushed hybrid".

Currently, employees have the legal right to request flexible working, but there is no obligation on companies to agree.

The Labour government has unveiled plans to bolster working rights, including a four-day “compressed” week.