Ex-Citi Banker Wins U.K. Age Case After Boss Called Him ‘Old’

(Bloomberg) -- A former Citigroup Inc. investment banker won his age discrimination case after a London tribunal ruled that one of his bosses, Manolo Falco, told him “you are old and set in your ways” when he was laid off at age 55.

Niels Kirk, a managing director for energy banking, was dismissed unfairly in November 2017, Employment Judge John Goodrich said. Kirk, who’d been employed at Citigroup for 26 years, wasn’t given any warning about the proposed restructuring and that he’d already been selected for redundancy, Goodrich said.

Citigroup said it planned to appeal the decision and that Kirk’s redundancy wasn’t related to his age. Kirk declined to comment through his lawyers.

Falco, Citigroup’s co-head of the investment bank, denied making the comment but said the executive “had some very difficult relationships with other senior bankers.” However, the judge said Falco’s evidence was “less convincing” and that Kirk had been taking notes of the meeting.

“The remark appeared to the tribunal to be the kind of throwaway remark Mr. Falco could make,” the judge said. On Wednesday, Citigroup said its “position as set out in the litigation is that Mr. Falco did not make that comment.”

Kirk was made redundant when the bank combined two roles. His successor was 51 at the time of the dismissal.

Citigroup is disappointed with the tribunal's decision, “particularly given the small age gap between Mr. Kirk and the employee who was ultimately appointed to the role,” a Citigroup spokeswoman said.

Of 51 managing directors in Citigroup’s EMEA Corporate Banking department in 2016, three were over the age of 55, according to documents filed by Citigroup. Fifteen were 50 or older.

“Gray hair is very important in this industry,” the then 54-year-old Falco told the court last year.

The size of any award will be decided at a later hearing, the judge said, in a ruling dated Jan. 2. Once a former employee has proved they are a victim of discrimination, a tribunal can order damages that are higher than the cap of around 84,000 pounds ($109,000).

Kirk’s performance ranking fell from “1” in 2014, the best-possible grade, to “3” -- indicating solid performance -- in 2015 and 2016, according to his witness statement.

His overall compensation fell from 937,000 pounds ($1.24 million) in 2014 to 535,000 pounds in 2016, according to documents in the case.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Browning in London at jbrowning9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net, Christopher Elser, Ross Larsen

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