LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - Three Black bankers, who
sued Barclays ( JJCTF ) for a combined 52.8 million pounds ($66.7
million) in London over allegations that included race
discrimination, harassment, victimisation and whistleblower
detriment, have largely lost their case.
In a near 460-page judgment, the East London Employment
Tribunal dismissed the bulk of claims brought by Louis Samnick,
a former vice president, vice president Christian Abanda Bella
and Henry-Serge Moune Nkeng, an assistant vice president.
The three men of Cameroonian background, who represented
themselves in the lengthy case, had alleged they had been
bullied, harassed and denied promotion and appropriate support,
in part because of their race.
Samnick, a former vice president in the bank's credit risk
model validation team, and Abanda Bella, a quantitative analyst,
succeeded with a claim that Barclays ( JJCTF ) had failed to make
reasonable adjustments for their disabilities during a 2019
performance review.
In a judgment made public on Wednesday, the judge said
health issues faced by Samnick and Abanda Bella were
sufficiently significant to allow them compensation for this
part of the claim. All other complaints failed.
Barclays ( JJCTF ) did not immediately reply to a request for comment
and Reuters was unable to reach the claimants.
Abanda Bella joined Barclays ( JJCTF ) in 2017 but has been signed off
work with depression since 2019. In his 2019 appraisal, carried
out in his absence, his performance was assessed as "needs
improvement". Samnick, who received the same 2019 performance
rating, had been on sick leave since September 2019.
Ranked as a vice president for 10 years, Samnick resigned in
2021 after securing another bank job at executive director
grade, the judgment showed.
A remedy hearing will be called if the parties cannot agree
compensation for the single failure to make reasonable
adjustments for disabilities.
($1 = 0.7813 pounds)