Three bankers who sued Barclays for race discrimination, harassment and victimisation have lost their cases at tribunal.
Louis Samnick, Christian Abanda Bella, and Henry-Serge Moune Nkeng – all of Cameroonian, French-speaking descent – sought a combined £52.8 million from the bank.
They claimed they had been bullied, harassed and denied promotion because of their race.
A claim of failure to make reasonable adjustments for Samnick and Bella due to health problems during a 2019 performance review was upheld, but all other claims dismissed.
All three men worked in senior roles for Barclays Execution Services, which provides IT and technology services across the business.
Discrimination claims
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In addition to the race discrimination and harassment claims, they made complaints of protected disclosure detriment. Samnick and Bella made claims of disability discrimination.
Bella joined the bank in 2017 but was signed off with depression in 2019. An appraisal was carried out in his absence, where his performance was deemed to “need improvement”. Ratings awarded would significantly influence decisions taken about pay rises and bonuses, and a “needs improvement” rating would generally not receive a bonus.
He told the tribunal he had made a series of protected disclosures from August 2017 onwards, and had suffered detriment as a result. He later submitted a series of formal grievances, all of which were dismissed.
He issued two tribunal claims, and at the time of the final hearing was still an employee but on long-term sick leave.
Nkeng, an assistant vice president, alleged that he had been at the receiving end of hurtful and discriminatory comments, starting with an appraisal in 2014.
He alleged that colleagues at the bank would refer to himself and Samnick as the “French legion”, and that following a knee injury and his return to work, he was ranked lower in performance reviews than white colleagues.
He had been allowed to work at home during rehabilitation, but claimed bosses had “forced” him to return to work at least one day a week -– something the bank denied.
Samnick told the tribunal that he had been placed on a performance improvement plan in November 2018 and applied for an internal transfer but was unsuccessful.
He then took time off for sick leave during 2019, during which time he also received a “needs improvement” rating in a performance appraisal.
He subsequently filed a tribunal claim, and resigned in February 2021 after obtaining a role at a rival institution.
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In a statement, Barclays said it welcomed the decision: “We are committed to building a diverse and equitable culture where everyone is included and has access to development opportunities throughout their career,” it said.
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