Ex-PwC accountant Mihaela Popa wins £750 for hurt feelings

An accountant who sued for £40m after claiming bosses at a top City firm made her feel 'like a prostitute' has been awarded £750.

A panel at Central London Employment Tribunal ruled Mihaela Popa was victimised.

However it added that no action by PricewaterhouseCoopers caused the accountant to "lose employment or prevented her from securing employment."

Popa was given an unfair reference by PwC after resigning from her £41,000-a-year job as a forensic accountant in November 2006, the tribunal found.  The Romanian claimed PwC set out to sabotage her career in retaliation for her suing the Big Four auditor. But she secured a £66,000-a-year job with Credit Suisse in 2008.

Popa lost previous tribunal claims of race discrimination, constructive unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal against PwC in 2007.

In a statement, PwC said it was disappointed and planned to appeal.

Early reports in Metro that Popa had been awarded £5,000 have been corrected.