For Chantelle Van Vliet, asking for a little flexibility at work became the beginning of a painful legal battle. The 48-year-old beauty therapist had spent more than two decades building a career in the aesthetics industry, working at prestigious spas around the world and, apart from maternity leave, never experiencing a significant period of unemployment.

The beauty therapist, from Chichester, was 48 at the time and a single parent to a 12 year old boy

Chantelle Van Vilet, 48, requested flexible working hours due to the 'severity' of her condition which caused 'confusion' and 'brain fog'.