A former Citibank analyst who was dismissed for submitting an expenses claim that included meals for his partner has lost an unfair dismissal case.
The employment tribunal sitting in East London found that Citibank was right to dismiss Mr Fekete for gross misconduct after he misrepresented the expenses he incurred on a business trip to Amsterdam in July 2022.
Prior to travelling, Fekete told a colleague he would be taking his partner on the trip.
When he submitted his expenses claim, concerns were raised that the receipts appeared to show meals for two people rather than one, as one receipt listed two coffees, two sandwiches and another drink.
Expenses claim tribunal
Fekete initially claimed that the coffees were small so he had two, and that he had skipped breakfast so he had ordered another sandwich for later that day. He said that the amounts were “well within my €100 (£86.70) limit” – the firm’s daily cap on expenses.
Further concerns were raised about other receipts that appeared to show another person was at the meals.
Fekete responded by saying: “All my expenses are within the €100 daily allowance. Could you please outline what your concern is as I don’t think I have to justify my eating habits to this extent… As previously confirmed these are all my expenses and I have no one to add to them.”
Concerns were raised to Citibank’s ethics office and Fekete was told the claim was put on hold while it was investigated.
He told an investigation meeting that his partner joined him on the trip, but said they did not have a meal together and all the food was consumed by him.
He later admitted his partner did join him for the meals in question.
The investigation found that he had claimed for meals not consumed by him, which was a breach of Citibank’s expense management policy and could be deemed gross misconduct.
He was invited to a disciplinary meeting in which he said that it was his understanding of the policy that he could claim up to €100 per day. He said he was having personal difficulties, specifically following the death of his grandmother and with his mental health, and claimed that he was on strong medication when he responded to earlier emails questioning his claim.
The company found that Fekete would have been aware that he could not claim meals for his partner and dismissed him for gross misconduct.
The tribunal agreed that Citibank’s decision to dismiss him had been a proportionate response.
Employment Judge Illing said: “He understood that the expense report required the attendees to be named, but not only failed to answer this question or the questions put to him, he continued with his representation. He also presented an incorrect position to his manager.
“I find that the respondent took into account all of the claimant’s representations including his state of mind and mitigation factors in conjunction with how he answered the questions and the reasons put forward by him as to why he acted as he did.
“I have considered the requirements of the Acas Code and I am satisfied that in all of these circumstances, the respondent acted in a procedurally fair manner.”
Fekete’s unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal claims were rejected by the tribunal.
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