A former HSBC executive has had his claim for unfair dismissal on grounds of sexual discrimination rejected by a London employment tribunal.
Peter Lewis, formerly HSBC’s global head of equities trading, had claimed that he was dismissed by the bank in 2004 because he was gay, and sued his former employers for 5 million.
An Employment Appeals Tribunal agreed this week that Lewis’s sexual orientation had not influenced HSBC’s decision to dismiss him following allegations of sexual harassment made by a colleague.
The colleague alleged that Lewis made sexual advances towards him in the changing rooms of the bank’s gym at its London headquarters.
“HSBC has always maintained that Mr Lewis was dismissed for gross misconduct following a complaint of sexual harassment made against him by another member of staff and for no other reason,” says bank spokesman Pierre Goad. “HSBC is pleased Mr Lewis’s claim has been rejected once again.”