SocGen Ordered to Compensate Fired IT Boss Accused of Trying to Kiss Colleague

(Bloomberg) -- Societe Generale SA was ordered to pay compensation to an IT chief it hastily fired when a female co-worker claimed he tried to kiss her, called her “a princess” and offered her $23,000 to “make her happy.”

A Paris appeals court said the French lender should have verified the allegations against Ziad Chehab before it dismissed him in 2017 at the height of the Me Too movement, following the complaint from a Romania-based colleague.

In the dismissal letter, SocGen says the woman complained about Chehab repeatedly making advances despite her refusal to have an intimate relationship with him. But Chehab has always rejected the allegations, calling them “ridiculous” and unsubstantiated.

After judges re-examined the evidence SocGen used to fire him -- including WhatsApp exchanges between the two, they ruled earlier this month that his dismissal for gross misconduct was unfair and granted him more than 130,000 euros ($139,670) in compensation.

The accusations “weren’t followed up with an internal investigation to corroborate them,” the judges pointed out, saying that the messaging between her and Chehab didn’t back her allegations either. 

While Chehab was fired too swiftly, BNP Paribas SA was criticized in March for acting too slowly in a sign that French banks are struggling to strike the right balance when handling complaints from female staffers about their bosses’ behavior. In both instances, the men were fired weeks after the Me Too movement spread worldwide as dozens of actresses came forward to accuse disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual assaults.

‘Burden of Proof’

SocGen declined to comment on the specifics of the ruling but said it has policies in place to prevent and combat inappropriate behavior by raising awareness and via an alert mechanism to handle complaints and whistle-blowing reports. Chehab’s accuser also declined to comment on the case.

A lawyer for Chehab, Celine Brunet, said the timing of the complaint against her client came shortly after he casted doubts about her professional abilities.

Brunet said Chehab was sent to Bucharest by SocGen in mid-2017 to bring some order at the Romanian unit. Yet, the moment Chehab put his foot down, his colleague lodged a complaint against him.

“It would have been understandable that the bank suspend him while it investigated the accusations,” Brunet said. “But in this instance he wasn’t even given a chance to explain himself and refute the accusations.”

The burden of proof lies with Societe Generale. Under French labor rules, an employer has to provide evidence to substantiate a dismissal for gross misconduct, which deprives the former employee of severance pay.

Since his dismissal by SocGen, Chehab has found another job. His LinkedIn profile says that he was global head of system clearing IT development when he was fired in late 2017.

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