A PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) partner said “real partners simply do not get sick”, it has been alleged at employment tribunal.
The managing partner of PwC’s Northern Ireland office was claimed to have written the remark in an e-mail after learning that colleague Colin Tenner was absent from work on stress leave.
Tenner, a former equity partner at the professional services firm, had taken two days’ sick leave in 2007. He was made redundant in 2009, and is suing the firm for disability discrimination, claiming he was dismissed because he was mentally ill, the Times has reported.
Tenner, 45, told the tribunal his illness had made him “actively research ways of committing suicide”, although he did not attempt to take his own life. He is claiming 15 years of lost earnings as partners typically retire at 60.
PwC has rejected Tenner’s claims. It said: “We believe that his claim is completely without merit and we will vigorously contest it.”
The case continues.
