Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Latest NewsRace discriminationSex discriminationDiscipline and grievancesDismissal

Exercise bike entrepreneur launches unfair dismissal case

by Adam McCulloch 7 Dec 2020
by Adam McCulloch 7 Dec 2020 Photo: Shutterstock (generic exercise bike, posed by model)
Photo: Shutterstock (generic exercise bike, posed by model)

A woman who developed a high-tech exercise bike has begun a legal case against the company she founded for unfair dismissal after claiming she was ousted because of sex discrimination.

Ratna Singh, founder of Birmingham-based Integrated Health Partners, was dismissed as chief executive in October, a decision that was reportedly agreed by a majority of the company’s directors.

The company sells CAR.O.L, which it describes as the world’s first AI exercise bike.

According to the Financial Times, Singh has filed an unfair dismissal employment tribunal claim on grounds of her gender and race, and is to pursue legal proceedings against the company.

Singh claimed she was forced out of the business she launched in 2007 after being subjected to bullying and harassment.

Employment tribunals

Latest employment tribunal stories

Latest bullying and harassment stories

Lloyds of London firm loses unfair dismissal case

The board of directors is believed to have acted in October over concerns about the performance of the business and Singh’s ability to work with her board colleagues. A company spokesperson denied her claims of bullying, saying: “This is simply a board that has decided by majority to replace the CEO, not for personal reasons but purely for business reasons … That happens every day in the corporate world. It had nothing to do with her race, nationality or gender.”

The Financial Times said Singh, in turn, had rejected the company’s criticisms, and claimed she was the victim of a campaign to remove her and take control of the company. It reported that her employment tribunal claim included emails and messages in which she was called “stupid”, “childish” and “naive”.

Singh is seeking compensation for injury to feelings and reinstatement as CEO. Law firm GQ Littler is representing IHP.

Previously, Singh had worked for five years in Silicon Valley primarily as an entrepreneur, selling her first start-up to Safeway US and then working at McKinsey in Silicon Valley as its first entrepreneur-In-residence.

She had also worked in advertising, working as global brand strategist for US agency giant FCB and in the UK for BMP DDB Needham.

Among the selling points of CAR.O.L is that users will achieve better fitness results from two intense 20-second sprints than from a 40-minute jog.

HR Director opportunities on Personnel Today

Browse more HR director jobs

Adam McCulloch
Adam McCulloch

Adam McCulloch is a freelance writer and production editor who has worked in sectors including travel (The Guardian), aviation (Flight International), agriculture (Farmers' Weekly), music (Jazzwise), theatre (The Stage) and social work (Community Care). He also works for a national newspaper and is the author of KentWalksNearLondon

previous post
NHS trusts aim to improve diversity among senior managers
next post
Nearly 10k job losses expected on ‘Black Monday’

2 comments

Avatar
simone 9 Dec 2020 - 9:16 am

It is a known fact, if you take VC they will elect a board and then they work out how to get shut of the founder whether they are performing or not, although men have significantly more chance of retaining the title of CEO as well as founder most female founders get pushed out. I guess the other consideration is founders are the ideas people, passionate and hate to scale for money, that is not what a VC wants and not necessarily CEO/leadership material.

Reply
Avatar
Roger Tancock 11 Dec 2020 - 3:21 pm

If people think your naïve , stupid or childish and you then play the race card or gender card then that means people would only think that for these reasons or maybe you are these things but don’t want to believe it.

Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You may also like

Adapt culture to hybrid work: do not force...

20 May 2022

Women in FTSE 350 leadership: ‘A lot of...

20 May 2022

City firms pledge to improve social mobility in...

20 May 2022

Squishy, flabby, foggy HR? Andrew Bartlow talks to...

20 May 2022

Movers and shakers May 2022: John Lewis and...

20 May 2022

City workers desert offices in favour of hybrid...

20 May 2022

Working from home statistics show three-fold increase

20 May 2022

Statutory sick pay reforms would save £4bn

19 May 2022

Apprenticeships are the solution to your recruitment problems

19 May 2022

Steep rise in visas for non-EU migrant workers

19 May 2022
  • Apprenticeships are the solution to your recruitment problems PROMOTED | Apprenticeships have the pulling power...Read more
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more
  • Why now is the time to plug the unhealthy gap PROMOTED | We’ve all heard the term ‘health is wealth’...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+