A top City banker sacked from her new job after bosses found out she was suing her old firm for sex discrimination has won her employment tribunal claim.
Latifa Bouabdillah resigned as vice president and director of financial giant Deutsche Bank and launched a bid to sue the bank for £1million over claims men were promoted ahead of her and received bigger bonuses.
She then moved to rival banking giant Commerzbank AG but was sacked when her new bosses found out about her claim against Deutsche Bank, just a month after she took up her new post.
She then took that firm to an employment tribunal - claiming victimisation and sex discrimination
Now she is in line for a major pay-out after the Central London tribunal ruled that she was victimised at Commerzbank and criticised the firm’s 'extreme reaction'.
However, her claim for sex discrimination against Commerzbank was dismissed.
The tribunal ruled: 'We find that the respondent victimised the claimant for having brought sex discrimination proceedings against her former employer and subjected her to the detriment of dismissal.'
Miss Bouabdillah had told the tribunal that she initially kept her original claim secret from her new employers because she feared they wouldn’t offer her the £150,000 a year post as head of product engineering.
However, just two weeks after taking up her new job at Commerzbank a press report about her employment tribunal claim against Deutsche Bank was seen by her new bosses.
She was sacked for a ‘breakdown of trust’ just five days after the article was published.
Ms Bouabdillah was escorted to her desk to collect her bag and then to reception to hand in her security passes before being escorted off the premises.
She received a letter a few days later stating that she had been sacked because she had 'withheld information material to the Bank.'
Commerzbank strongly refuted her claims, and said that when interviewed for the job she said that she left Deutsche Bank because 'there was a lot of competition for positions' and she 'wanted a career break'.
However, the tribunal concluded: 'We find that the reason for the respondent’s decision to dismiss the claimant was that she had brought tribunal proceedings.
'The respondent denies this and says that it was her failure to disclose the proceedings rather than the fact she had taken them which was the reason. We reject this.
'We do not accept that she misled the respondents at any stage. When asked direct questions she gave direct answers. They may not have been entirely full answers but that is not a matter of misleading or being dishonest.
'Had the respondent probed deeper, the claimant would have then had to decide whether to answer the more detailed questions or not, but failure to answer questions that were not asked does not in our view amount to a lack of honesty or trust.'
Taking action: Ms Bouabdillah launched a bid to sue Deutsche Bank for sexual discrimination over claims men received bonuses three times larger than hers
Case: Ms Bouabdillah was then sacked by her new employer Commerzbank AG when they found out about the case. She then accused them of unfair dismissal, and won today
The tribunal added: 'There is no evidence that the claimant at any stage neglected her duties to the Bank and there is no suggestion that she acted unprofessionally in any of her dealings albeit she had not been a the Bank very long.
'In conclusion we find that the respondent had an immediate and emotional response to the claimant’s disclosure that she had brought discrimination proceedings against her former employer.
'We find that they were uncomfortable with this and decided not to continue with the relationship because this was not the sort of person they wanted to employ.”
Miss Bouabdillah had told the tribunal she was likened to a common criminal by Commerzbank’s senior HR partner Nigel Marsden and was left feeling “distressed, demeaned and humiliated” by her new bosses.
She said: 'Towards the end of the conversation Nigel compared me to someone who had been shoplifting and said that should be disclosed.
'I was shocked and said how could he compare me to a shoplifter, and said there was no similarity between my case and shoplifting.
'I said that I was the victim in my claims. It seemed to me that they were just looking for an excuse to dismiss me.
'I felt rejected. The meeting upset me a lot. I had been compared to a criminal. I felt that for him I was guilty until proven innocent. I left the meeting feeling terrible, humiliated and very worried about my future.'
Miss Bouabdillah was dismissed from her job at Commerzbank on June 11 last year - less than a month after she was appointed to the post.
A Commerzbank spokesman said: 'Commerzbank welcomes the tribunal’s decision to dismiss the sexual discrimination claim against the Bank and is considering its legal options with regards to the other part of the claim.
'The Claimant was dismissed for a breach of trust and confidence after having failed adequately to disclose the true reasons for leaving her former employer. She, like many employees of Commerzbank was in a role of significant trust and responsibility. Honesty and trustworthiness are paramount to the Bank and its customers.
'We are committed to ensuring a positive, motivating and rewarding working environment that enables staff to reach their full potential with systems of training and support and, unusually for businesses of its kind, a policy of balancing individual needs with those of the bank.'
A remedy hearing is due to take place in September.
Latifa Bouabdillah resigned as vice president and director of financial giant Deutsche Bank and launched a bid to sue the bank for £1million over claims men were promoted ahead of her and received bigger bonuses.
She then moved to rival banking giant Commerzbank AG but was sacked when her new bosses found out about her claim against Deutsche Bank, just a month after she took up her new post.
She then took that firm to an employment tribunal - claiming victimisation and sex discrimination
Now she is in line for a major pay-out after the Central London tribunal ruled that she was victimised at Commerzbank and criticised the firm’s 'extreme reaction'.
However, her claim for sex discrimination against Commerzbank was dismissed.
The tribunal ruled: 'We find that the respondent victimised the claimant for having brought sex discrimination proceedings against her former employer and subjected her to the detriment of dismissal.'
Miss Bouabdillah had told the tribunal that she initially kept her original claim secret from her new employers because she feared they wouldn’t offer her the £150,000 a year post as head of product engineering.
However, just two weeks after taking up her new job at Commerzbank a press report about her employment tribunal claim against Deutsche Bank was seen by her new bosses.
She was sacked for a ‘breakdown of trust’ just five days after the article was published.
Ms Bouabdillah was escorted to her desk to collect her bag and then to reception to hand in her security passes before being escorted off the premises.
She received a letter a few days later stating that she had been sacked because she had 'withheld information material to the Bank.'
Commerzbank strongly refuted her claims, and said that when interviewed for the job she said that she left Deutsche Bank because 'there was a lot of competition for positions' and she 'wanted a career break'.
However, the tribunal concluded: 'We find that the reason for the respondent’s decision to dismiss the claimant was that she had brought tribunal proceedings.
'The respondent denies this and says that it was her failure to disclose the proceedings rather than the fact she had taken them which was the reason. We reject this.
'We do not accept that she misled the respondents at any stage. When asked direct questions she gave direct answers. They may not have been entirely full answers but that is not a matter of misleading or being dishonest.
'Had the respondent probed deeper, the claimant would have then had to decide whether to answer the more detailed questions or not, but failure to answer questions that were not asked does not in our view amount to a lack of honesty or trust.'
Taking action: Ms Bouabdillah launched a bid to sue Deutsche Bank for sexual discrimination over claims men received bonuses three times larger than hers
Case: Ms Bouabdillah was then sacked by her new employer Commerzbank AG when they found out about the case. She then accused them of unfair dismissal, and won today
The tribunal added: 'There is no evidence that the claimant at any stage neglected her duties to the Bank and there is no suggestion that she acted unprofessionally in any of her dealings albeit she had not been a the Bank very long.
'In conclusion we find that the respondent had an immediate and emotional response to the claimant’s disclosure that she had brought discrimination proceedings against her former employer.
'We find that they were uncomfortable with this and decided not to continue with the relationship because this was not the sort of person they wanted to employ.”
Miss Bouabdillah had told the tribunal she was likened to a common criminal by Commerzbank’s senior HR partner Nigel Marsden and was left feeling “distressed, demeaned and humiliated” by her new bosses.
She said: 'Towards the end of the conversation Nigel compared me to someone who had been shoplifting and said that should be disclosed.
'I was shocked and said how could he compare me to a shoplifter, and said there was no similarity between my case and shoplifting.
'I said that I was the victim in my claims. It seemed to me that they were just looking for an excuse to dismiss me.
'I felt rejected. The meeting upset me a lot. I had been compared to a criminal. I felt that for him I was guilty until proven innocent. I left the meeting feeling terrible, humiliated and very worried about my future.'
Miss Bouabdillah was dismissed from her job at Commerzbank on June 11 last year - less than a month after she was appointed to the post.
A Commerzbank spokesman said: 'Commerzbank welcomes the tribunal’s decision to dismiss the sexual discrimination claim against the Bank and is considering its legal options with regards to the other part of the claim.
'The Claimant was dismissed for a breach of trust and confidence after having failed adequately to disclose the true reasons for leaving her former employer. She, like many employees of Commerzbank was in a role of significant trust and responsibility. Honesty and trustworthiness are paramount to the Bank and its customers.
'We are committed to ensuring a positive, motivating and rewarding working environment that enables staff to reach their full potential with systems of training and support and, unusually for businesses of its kind, a policy of balancing individual needs with those of the bank.'
A remedy hearing is due to take place in September.