A Commerzbank AG manager won more than £300,000 ($366,650) in a sex discrimination lawsuit following a long-standing legal battle with the bank.
(Bloomberg) — A Commerzbank AG manager won more than £300,000 ($366,650) in a sex discrimination lawsuit following a long-standing legal battle with the bank.
Jagruti Rajput, who was a senior compliance officer at the firm’s London office, won a sex and maternity discrimination claim for the second time in September. Judges found that Rajput, who has been fighting the bank since 2017, had been denied a fair opportunity to be promoted because she was a woman and her maternity leave.
A panel of London employment judges ruled there was a 60% chance Rajput would have been promoted to the head of markets role if she had not been subject to unlawful discrimination, according to a judgment made public this week. Her award included losses for potential salary, bonus and pension, as well as £25,000 for injury to her feelings.
“We are disappointed with the tribunal’s decision on liability and are in the early stages of an appeal,” a Commerzbank spokesperson said. “The bank strives to offer an inclusive working environment and does not tolerate workplace discrimination of any sort.”
London’s employment tribunals are at the front line of unfair dismissal claims between financial firms and employees. However, due to the sensitive nature of the cases and a desire to not publicly air potentially embarrassing claims, sex discrimination suits are often settled before they get to court.
“It has been a long campaign for her and this is an important victory,” Gerard Airey, Rajput’s lawyer at Kilgannon and Partners, said. “It is disappointing to see that the bank have attempted to appeal the liability judgment again and we suspect that the money being spent on challenging Jagruti is more than the value of the award to date.”
(Updates with comment from Rajput’s lawyer in the final paragraph)
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