A finance professional has lost his discrimination case after challenging his employer's decision to slash his bonus to £10,000 during a year when illness limited him to just 18 working days.
Matthew Colliander-Smith, a partner at Veritas Asset Management, claimed the investment firm discriminated against him due to his long Covid condition when determining his 2022 compensation.
The employment tribunal heard that Colliander-Smith managed to work only eight per cent of his typical hours that year after developing severe symptoms following a Covid-19 infection in October 2021.
He argued his remuneration should reflect the considerable effort required to complete any work whilst battling his condition, rather than being based solely on productivity.
Colliander-Smith had joined the fund management company, which oversees approximately £25billion in assets, in 2011 and achieved operating partner status four years later.
His health deteriorated significantly after contracting coronavirus, leaving him with debilitating long Covid symptoms, including severe mental and physical exhaustion, diminished endurance, and anxiety.
The tribunal was presented with evidence showing he had been "almost entirely absent from work" throughout 2022, with his activities during that period consisting primarily of email correspondence.
His annual discretionary bonus plummeted from the substantial £185,000 he had received for 2021 to a mere £10,000 for the following year, a reduction of 94 per cent that left him "shocked and disappointed."
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|The man claimed long Covid had kept him out of work for majority of the year
In correspondence with management about reconsidering his compensation, Colliander-Smith expressed his dismay: "Given these unprecedented circumstances, the decision to reduce my fixed profit allocation by -94 per cent year-on-year has left me shocked and disappointed."
The company subsequently raised his bonus to £40,000 in January, though Colliander-Smith maintained this remained inadequate, believing £97,000 would have been more appropriate.
Negotiations about his potential return to work and future responsibilities reached an impasse over subsequent months.
This deadlock ultimately resulted in the termination of his partnership in September 2023, prompting him to pursue legal action against Veritas for disability discrimination, victimisation, and the firm's alleged failure to implement reasonable workplace adjustments.
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The man's condition meant he only worked 18 days that year
The central London tribunal rejected every aspect of his case, with employment judge Emma Webster highlighting the clear justification for Veritas's bonus decision.
"The reason for that award was that [he] had done very little work during the previous year," she stated.
"He had been almost entirely absent from work."
Judge Webster noted that Colliander-Smith's own calculations confirmed he had worked merely 18 days throughout 2022, representing approximately 7.5 per cent of annual working days.
She concluded: "[Veritas's] reasons are clear and cogent and it was proportionate for them to reward the staff who had been at work that year as opposed to those who had not."