A former Goldman Sachs worker who was terminated after returning from paternity leaves has won his sexual harassment case.
When Jon Reeves raised his concerns about his struggle to balance work and life with his managers, they told him “you’re an adult, you can handle this.”
After returning from a six-month paternity leave, he was fired from his position as vice president of the compliance department at the London firm in 2022.
He claimed that the company disapproved of men taking long-term leave to care for children.
He said at the hearing that “What happened to myself would never happen to a Goldman Sachs woman, 100%.”
The bank claimed that he was fired because of his long-standing performance problems.
Reeves had his first baby in 2019, after he moved to the UK from the US in 2013. He held various positions in the financial institution before moving there.
The court heard that, on one occasion, the family was travelling to Cornwall to spend their first holiday as a unit when an urgent issue arose. Senior employees of the bank were needed to deal with it.
Mr Reeves had missed an email sent by a colleague while driving. The incident was raised repeatedly as a matter of performance.
He informed his supervisors that he would take a six-month paternity break following the birth of his child. This period would run from November 2021 until May 2022. His name was then put forward to be redeployed in March 2022.
Just prior to the end of Mr Reeves’ paternity leave he was put at risk of being redundant and placed on gardening leave. He would be dismissed in September 2022.
The tribunal ruled in favor of Mr Reeves and found that no effort had been made to ensure “fairness” before he was fired because of his gender.
Goldman Sachs released a statement in response to the verdict: “The company is deeply committed in supporting working parents. Since its introduction in 2019, hundreds of Goldman Sachs dads have taken advantage of our 26-week paid parental leave, which leads the market. Goldman Sachs said in a statement: “The firm is deeply committed to supporting working parents, with hundreds of Goldman Sachs fathers having taken advantage of our market-leading 26 weeks paid parental leave since it was introduced in 2019.
The amount of the payout will be determined during a hearing to determine remedies next year.
Joeli Brearley is the founder of Pregnant Then Screwed. She said that when men take an extended parental leave they may find themselves subjected similar bias and prejudice that women have faced for decades. The prejudice can sometimes be worse because of deeply entrenched stereotypes that tell us it is the mother who should take care of children while men should prioritize work and earning money.
She said that the charity heard “shocking” stories from men about their employers’ reactions to requests for shared leave.
Joeli Brearley is the founder of Pregnant Then Screwed. “When men take extended parental leaves, they may find themselves subjected similar prejudices and biases that women have been experiencing for decades.”
Brearley said: “Until there is legislation offering a decent amount paternity leave, that’s well-paid and ringfenced so that the entire family loses out if they do not take it, these stereotypes will continue to wreak havoc with the ability of fathers to be involved.”
Alex Lloyd Hunter is the co-founder and campaigner for The Dadshift which, along with Pregnant Then Screwed, campaigns for better paternity leaves for dads. He said: “Having a good paternity on paper does not mean anything if fathers are discriminated against for using it.”
He said that the UK has the lowest statutory paternity leaves in Europe, with just two weeks of leave paid at less than the minimum wage.
Hunter said that “even in places of work that offer better policies, the Goldman Sachs incident shows that many employers still view being a involved father as ‘unmanly.’ This attitude hurts fathers and mothers alike.” “If we want to make sure both parents are involved in their children’s lives, then we must start by improving paternity leave. But we also need employers who actively support fathers to take it.”
Next year, a hearing will be held to determine the compensation due Mr. Reeves.
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