Record breaking claim for sex discrimination
April 22, 2008
Yesterday I commented that claims under the Sex Discrimination Act have no upper limit on the compensation that can be awarded, and what better way to demonstrate this than with the recent record breaking claim by Gill Switalski, formerly a lawyer for City firm F&C Asset Management. Switalski won her claim last month, and was awarded £13.4 million, but is has now emerged that she is more likely to be awarded £19 million, which will be the biggest ever sex discrimination payout. The figure is based on loss of earnings, pension payments, career opportunities and the psychiatric damage she suffered as a result of the bullying she was subjected to.
It was found that Switalski had been subjected to an 18 month period of harassment by Senior Management in her £140,000 per year job. She had been treated less favourably than her male colleague, and “bullied, harassed and belittled” by her manager Marrack Tonkin, apparently because he felt threatened by her.
The company is now set to appeal against the decision: so the case looks set to become a historical benchmark, and one that will probably appear in future employment law textbooks. It just goes to show how crucial the area of equality and fair treatment of all staff is in an organisation, and the consequences that can be faced when the behaviour of a manager is not dealt with properly.
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