Cloud Imperium Games Must Compensate Ex-Employee in Disability Bias Case

A UK employment tribunal has ruled in favor of a former Cloud Imperium Games employee, ordering the company to pay £27,748 in compensation for wrongful termination related to its office return policy. The case involves senior programmer Paul Ah-Thion, who was let go in 2022 after the company denied his request to work from home permanently due to a disability. Ah-Thion had previously worked from the office in Wilmslow before the pandemic, and later from home. However, when Cloud Imperium opened its Manchester studio in 2021, it required staff to return to the office. Ah-Thion asked to continue remote work instead of relocating but was denied and subsequently terminated due to alleged performance issues related to his remote work setup. The tribunal found that Cloud Imperium's concerns about Ah-Thion's performance seemed to be raised after the fact, as the company had not formally investigated these concerns during his employment. Furthermore, the company failed to provide evidence on why it could not successfully monitor Ah-Thion's performance while he worked from home. The judgment stated that there was no evidence to suggest that working from home would have hindered the company's goal of ensuring acceptable performance from a senior gameplay programmer. The tribunal concluded that Cloud Imperium treated Ah-Thion unfavorably due to his disability and could not demonstrate that his dismissal was a proportionate means of achieving its legitimate aims.