Successful defence of appeal in the Court of Appeal against HSBC

Successful defence of appeal in the Court of Appeal against HSBC

Kilgannon and Partners are pleased to post that our client, Carmen Chevalier-Firescu, has succeeded in defending an appeal from HSBC about the strike out of her claim in the Court of Appeal. Carmen’s claim was initially struck out by the East London Employment Tribunal. One of the reasons given was that it was not just and equitable to extend time. The Employment Appeal Tribunal decided that this needed to be revisited by the Tribunal. This led to HSBC appealing to the Court of Appeal to try and reinstate the original decision.

Carmen was represented in the Court of Appeal by Oliver Segal KC and Elaine Banton, instructed by our Gerard Airey.

The Court of Appeal decided that the decision of the East London Employment Tribunal to strike out Carmen’s claims needed to be looked at again by a new Tribunal to decide if time should be extended.

The Court decided that the 16 factors that the Tribunal had in mind were either completely irrelevant to an assessment of Carmen’s case for extending time, or at best they were marginally relevant. It was accepted that it was Carmen’s case that it was only clear to her in 2020 that she might have a good claim for victimisation and discrimination against HSBC for not getting a role in mid-2018. 

The Court decided that the Tribunal didn’t make a clear sequence of findings about what Carmen knew and when; it wasn’t clear whether there was one or more than one negative reference; and the ET wasn’t clear on what was disclosed in the DSARs of 2018 and 2020 to establish the knowledge Carmen had.

The Court of Appeal’s full reasoning can be found in the Judgment below:

https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewca/civ/2024/1550?query=hsbc&court=ewca%2Fciv

For more publicity on the case head to:

https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/hsbc-loses-appeal-over-job-seeking-bankers-discrimination-claim-2024-12-11/

and

https://www.law360.com/financial-services-uk/articles/2272969/hsbc-loses-appeal-in-banker-s-sex-bias-case

Article by

Gerard Airey

ga@kilgannonlaw.co.uk

Our expert employment law solicitors all have many years’ experience advising individuals who are in your position. We will be able to guide you through the process and to help you secure the best possible outcome.

We offer a range of services, so please contact our friendly customer services team to discuss further via hello@kilgannonlaw.co.uk or 0800 915 7777.

This article is for information purposes only and is correct at the time of publication. It does not constitute legal advice 15.12.24