British Panel Finds
Sex Bias at HSBC
By REUTERS, from the
NYTimes on the Web, May 6, 2006
LONDON, May 5 -- A former HSBC
banker was not fired because he was gay, but was discriminated against for his
sexual orientation, a British employment tribunal ruled on Friday.
In what could become a landmark ruling under Britain's new laws against
discrimination toward homosexuals, the tribunal criticized HSBC's initial
investigation of the sexual harassment accusations against the banker, Peter
Lewis, and upheld 4 of the 16 claims that he filed against the bank.
The tribunal concluded that Mr. Lewis received "less favorable treatment"
because he was gay, but that his dismissal was not influenced by his sexual
orientation.
The case was one of the first major claims under legislation introduced in 2003
to protect gay men and lesbians in the workplace.
Banks have recently been confronting a wave of discrimination lawsuits over
accusations of unequal pay, allowing a hostile workplace and sex discrimination.
The tribunal found that HSBC's decision to suspend Mr. Lewis while the
accusations against him were investigated was discriminatory. It also
ruled that he was discriminated against by the inclusion of a second accusation
against him by another employee.
HSBC said it was considering whether to appeal the tribunal's findings on these
points. Any compensation for Mr. Lewis will be decided at a future
hearing.
Mr. Lewis, the former head of HSBC's global equity trading business, was fired
in December 2004 for what the company said was gross personal misconduct after
reports of an incident at the bank's gym.
He denied the incident and filed a £5 million ($9.2 million) bias suit against
the bank, contending that he was fired because he was gay. HSBC denied
this, and the tribunal agreed.
HSBC said it was pleased the tribunal had rejected the main points of Mr.
Lewis's claim but was "disappointed and surprised by the adverse findings of the
tribunal on 4 of the 16 points."
These related to the initial stages of the disciplinary process against Mr.
Lewis, who had joined HSBC in September 2004 with a compensation package worth
around £1 million.
Mr. Lewis's lawyer, Alison Downie, said Mr. Lewis was pleased that the tribunal
had found HSBC had discriminated against him because of his sexual orientation.
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