UK: Emotional support dogs and/or therapy dogs (or cats) are not protected in law in the UK and therefore there is no obligation for an employer to allow them in the workplace with their owner. It’s down to each employer (organisation) to decide if an employee can take an emotional support or therapy dog to work. That’s the outcome in general terms of an employment tribunal case in the UK brought by Deborah Cullingford, a bailiff, against county court bailiff services in Leeds, UK.
She lost her case for discrimination after her bosses told that she couldn’t take her emotional support dog, a cute terrier, on jobs. Deborah Cullingford has experienced three diagnoses of cancer which added to her anxiety. She adopted Bella, her terrier, 10 years ago and told the tribunal that she lived alone and that Bella provided “companionship and support”. Bella is her support animal and helps her to manage anxiety.
She said that her work was stressful and tense at times. And that Bella “enables me to work more effectively and focus more easily”.
She added that Bella “helps me with my anxiety and is able to help me feel more calm and relaxed.”
But her bosses decided that she could not take Bella on her jobs for practical reasons. The judge at the tribunal ruled that the bailiff’s managers had “legitimate concerns to look at in terms of confidentiality, security of the vehicle, health and safety, risk of escape or interaction with the public.”
Cullingford had to stop taking Bella from joining her on bailiff jobs in 2022. She was told by her employer, as mentioned, that emotional support dogs are not protected under UK law. She felt she had to quit and accused her employers of disability discrimination by failing to make “reasonable adjustments” to her work role. The judge dismissed the case arguing that the employers were reasonable because they have legitimate concerns about allowing an emotional support dog in a workplace.
Note: in the UK, emotional support dogs (or emotional support animals) are not protected under the law in the same way as assistance dogs (such as guide dogs or hearing dogs). The law provides legal protections and rights to assistance dogs, which are specifically trained to help people with disabilities, but emotional support animals do not have these same legal protections.
The relevant UK legislation, such as the Equality Act 2010, grants rights to people with assistance dogs in terms of public access, housing, and transport. These dogs are trained to perform tasks directly related to a person’s disability, and they are granted access to places where dogs are generally not allowed (such as shops, restaurants, and public transport).
On the other hand, emotional support dogs, while they may provide comfort and companionship, are not considered to perform specific tasks related to a disability. Because they do not meet the same criteria as assistance dogs, they do not have the same legal recognition or rights to access public places or accommodations that otherwise have a no-pets policy.
To summarize:
- Assistance dogs (e.g., guide dogs) are protected under UK law.
- Emotional support dogs are not protected under UK law and are not entitled to the same rights as assistance dogs.
More: Wobbly and blind therapy cat provides emotional support to 88-year-old cancer patient
