The City banker behind a record £10m race discrimination claim has lost his case after a tribunal rejected that he was sacked for not being German.
Australian-born Malcolm Perry was made redundant from his £2.2m-per-year job as managing director of Dresdner Kleinwort’s London head office last year.
He alleged that the bank’s German parent company, Allianz, wanted to make the restructured firm ‘more German’, claiming that while he was serving his notice, a similar job was offered to a German.
However, after a three-week tribunal hearing, which included witness statements from the bank’s chief executive Stefan Jentzsch, Perry’s claim has been rejected.
The tribunal’s judgment said: “The respondents did not apply provisions, criteria, practices or conditions to the claimant that he should speak German, that he should have lived in Germany, or that he should have experience of German clients.”
A spokeswoman for Dresdner Kleinwort said the bank was pleased that the tribunal had unanimously agreed it did not discriminate against Perry.
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“We are an equal opportunity employer that seeks to provide a workplace free of discrimination, and we will continue to prize and defend these values,” she added.
The bank has admitted a separate charge of unfair dismissal against Perry, and faces a fine of up to £58,400.
