Woman wins tribunal against Swiss Re over executive’s sexist comments City sexism A former underwriter at Swiss Re has won an employment tribunal against the world’s biggest reinsurance company, after a senior executive at the firm told her: “If I had breast like yours, I would be demanding too.” Julia Sommer, a political risk underwriter at the Swiss insurer, is now set to receive a payout, after [...]
Employers could be sued if they cut remote and hybrid workers salaries, lawyers say Work from Home Employers giving pay cuts to remote and hybrid workers could face discrimination lawsuits, employment lawyers have said. Companies that pay higher salaries to workers who come into the office risk being subject to sexual discrimination lawsuits, due to the fact women are more likely to work from home than men, lawyers told City A.M. Fiona [...]
UK watchdog met with BNP Paribas’ HR team over handling of sexual discrimination complaint City sexism FRENCH Bank BNP Paribas came under active scrutiny from the UK’s financial watchdog over its alleged mishandling of complaints from one of its brokers that she was subject to years of sexual discrimination and bullying at the firm’s London offices. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) held a series of meeting with senior members of [...]
Let lawyers take holidays without having to work, Mayer Brown managing partner says June 13, 2022 Mayer Brown’s UK managing partner has told partners in the law firm not to disturb associates on their holidays – apart from in emergencies. In an internal memo seen by The Lawyer, Dominic Griffiths, the highest-ranking partner at Mayer Brown’s London office, told the law firm’s senior lawyers not to interrupt younger lawyers’ holidays, as [...]
Google settles lawsuit for $118m over claims it ‘systematically’ underpaid female employees June 13, 2022 Google has agreed to pay $118m (£96m) to settle a class-action lawsuit brought forward by four of its former employees over claims the tech giant “systemically” underpaid 15,500 of its female employees. The Silicon Valley firm will also bring in an independent labour economist to analyse its pay practices to ensure female workers are not [...]
Canadian bank CIBC subjected senior exec to racial and sexual discrimination, lawsuit says May 30, 2022 An ex-senior banker at one of Canada’s biggest banks has filed an £800,000 lawsuit against her former employer over claims she was subject to racial and sexual discrimination while working at the firm. Zhuofang Wei, a former executive director at the London office of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), is suing the bank [...]
45 per cent of Brits with disabilities admit to concealing them in the workplace to avoid being ‘valued less’ May 20, 2022 Britain is a country uncomfortable speaking about workplace disabilities with almost 45 per cent of those with one concealing it, according to new figures published by Samsung. Research shared by the electronics firm this week firm found almost half of 2,500 people polled did not feel OK using the word ‘disabled’, while 40 per cent [...]
Los Angeles judges approves Activision’s $18m sexual discrimination settlement March 31, 2022 A Los Angeles judge has approved an $18m (£13.7m) settlement between Activision Blizzard and the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to settle one of several lawsuits facing the videogames developer. In a statement, Activision Blizzard said the federal court had agreed to sign off on its $18m settlement after the EEOC accused the firm [...]
“One size-fits-all approach doesn’t work,” Salesforce chief says in response to 4-day work week January 25, 2022 The CEO of Salesforce UK and Ireland has said workers should be allowed to decide “how, when, and where they work,” in response to calls for a four-day work week. Zahra Bahrololoumi, CEO of Salesforce UKI, said “a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work” as she claimed that Covid-19 has “accelerated a revolution” in the way [...]
Four day work week trial shows 100:80:100 model is taking off in UK but same job in less time may power stress and anxiety January 21, 2022 Three lockdowns have made a large number of employees re-evaluate the notoriously tricky work-life balance. The four-day working week is seen as the perfect solution, designed to offer employees flexible hours and increase productivity during working hours. To some large businesses the concept has proven more viable , so could the five-day working week the next traditional policy [...]