Employment tribunal dismisses sexual harassment claims against Linklaters
Sexual harassment accusations brought by a former temporary employee against Linklaters have been dismissed by an employment tribunal.
The claimant, Ms F Imran, had alleged she was subject to sexual harassment when working at Linklaters between December 2018 and February 2019.
Imran named both the magic circle law firm and its former employee Partha Mudgil in her complaint to the employment tribunal.
Today the employment tribunal dismissed the case, finding neither the law firm nor Mudgil subjected Imran to sexual harassment.
Imran had alleged Mudgil inappropriately touched her thigh on 10 December 2018, then on 21 December he stood close to her.
She also claimed that on 1 February 2019, Mudgil motioned her to leave the bar with him. Imran believed her contract at Linklaters was ended early because she rejected Mudgil’s conduct.
She disclosed 17 pages of WhatsApp messages to support her claim.
Linklaters and Mudgil denied any wrongdoing from the start.
The tribunal found Imran had made a false allegation to the police that Mudgil had sexually assaulted her on 31 January 2021 by touching her bottom.
The tribunal also described the WhatsApp messages as a “product of fantasy” on the part of Imran, and confirmed her contract was ended early for reasons not connected to alleged sexual harassment.
A statement on behalf of Linklaters and Mudgil said: “We welcome the tribunal’s decision. The firm takes any complaints of inappropriate conduct extremely seriously.”