Employment Appeal Tribunal clears HSBC of sacking employee because he is gay

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has found that a homosexual HSBC banker was not fired on the grounds of his sexual orientation.

Peter Lewis, former head of HSBC‘s global equity trading business, claimed he was dismissed by the bank in February 2005 because he was gay.

In May 2006, an employment tribunal ruled that while HSBC had discriminated against Peter Lewis, he was not dismissed because he was homosexual.

Lewis, who was sacked after an alleged sexual harassment incident at the company gym, was granted the right to appeal, but the EAT rejected his claims earlier this week.

The EAT ruled that the findings against HSBC were “wholly unexpected” and “unfair as a matter of natural justice”.

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A spokesman for HSBC said the bank was fully committed to equal opportunities for all staff and to workplace diversity.

“As a responsible employer, we owe a duty of care to all our employees and we take this obligation very seriously,” he said.