Stephanie Villalba, a former Merrill Lynch banker is suing for £7.5m in damages for unfair dismissal, sex discrimination and unequal pay.
Villalba claims that the bank is ‘institutionally sexist’ and accuses her former boss, Ausaf Abba for forcing her to act as a stewardess for male colleagues on a corporate jet.
The £300,000 a year banker will face a strong counter-attack this week. Raymundo Yu, Merill’s head of private clients and chairman of its Asia Pacific operation will lead the defence. The bank is flying in 22 top executives to testify against Villalba.
A spokesperson at the bank told the Telegraph: “We are looking forward to challenging Stephanie Villalba’s false allegations. She was out of her depth in her important role, and for the sake of the business she had to be replaced.
“Europe was making huge losses and Stephanie Villalba didn’t show the leadership necessary to cope with the problems.”
Official figures from the Employment Tribunals Service show that sex discrimination claims have soared comparatively since last year with a 76% rise.
One Response
Outrageous Claims
It would be unfair to comment on the details of this womans claim, that should be investigated fully and concluded by the appropriate bodies.
The extent of the claim however is ridiculous in the extreme. If the claim is based around earnings that could have been achieved over a number of years then it would seem fair and reasonable to conclude the individual has no intention of ever wanting to work again (why should she) in doing so she is clearly undermining her own abilities in gaining further employment.
If claims such as this are paid out under such principles then god help the business world and the economy.
I have all respect for genuine claims and believe compensations should be applied but lets get real with the scales and figures.