A former Barclays (BARC.L) director, sacked for sexual harassment and other misdeeds, is suing the British bank for more than 584,600 pounds ($719,412), claiming female colleagues manufactured charges and that his dismissal was unjust.
After 14 years as a senior wealth manager, Robert Record was fired for egregious misconduct in September 2020.
The 46-year-old, who sued the bank for sex discrimination and wrongful dismissal, denies the most severe charges, including improperly touching a female coworker, according to documents.
On Thursday, Barclays’ lawyer Ed Williams cross-examined Record, who said he and others had observed a group of ladies “cooking up the charge sheet” in meetings.
“These ladies urged (a female former coworker) to register a grievance against me as part of a collective purpose to remove me,” he added.
He claims that witnesses who may have substantiated his worries about women “colluding” against him were not examined during later internal investigations, that he could not defend himself, and that his dismissal was unjust and disproportionate.
The disciplinary findings included “unwelcome physical contact with a female coworker, sexual harassment of another colleague and language and actions which reasonably may be interpreted to be a racial insult,” documents indicated.
The bank didn’t react Thursday.
Filings accused Record of excluding a female worker from a treasure hunt, acting “intimidatingly,” looking at a woman’s breasts, and caressing a female colleague.
His lawyer, Peter Hignett, questioned whether Barclays workers adequately investigated complainants’ reliability.
According to meeting notes, Williams, for Barclays, stated female employees were outraged by “bad behavior” at the bank.
“Female staff workers may fire senior males who sexually harassed them regardless of their gender or seniority. Sexual harassers. Do you understand? “asks.
Record’s lawsuit seeks lost pay, postponed bonuses, pension benefits, and emotional distress.
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