Former Barclays Employee Sues Bank

A FORMER Barclays Bank Zambia employee has dragged the bank to the Lusaka High Court for constructive dismissal which he says was instigated by the line management at the institution over some years.
Christopher Chichoni who was Head of Sourcing at the bank said he joined the institution in 2008 but his work was made difficult and unbearable by a series of events attributed to persons within his line of work.
According to the statement of claim filed in the Lusaka High Court by Mr Chichoni’s lawyers from KMG Chisanga Advocates, on diverse dates he reported to his line manager the series of events and was advised that they would be addressed but they were never dealt with.
The events that occurred in the course of his employment led to him to believe that it was the wish of senior management to have him found wanting and dismissed from employment.
He said as a result, on January 19, 2017 he declared a grievance with the bank in pursuance of his rights and obligations under the bank’s grievance procedure code and as recognized by the law.
Mr Chichoni said that in 2013 he was given instructions by the bank’s chief operating officer related to the awarding of the cheque book
printing business to a local supplier, Celsys Limited with further instructions that the same was from the managing director’s office.
He said he was told in confidence by the chief operating officer and a Mr Raja Dhiru of Celsys Limited that he had be to cautious with his job because the company’s shareholders were close friends with the
bank’s managing director.
“After conducting a due diligence the plaintiff and his team found that the supplier’s quote was much higher than that of the offshore supplier whose contract was still subsisting with the bank.
“Further the local supplier’s products other than cheque books were tested and deliveries were late much to the detriment of the bank and
its customers,” reads part of the statement.
He said despite the inadequacies, he was advised by the chief operating officer and the line manager to consider awarding the contract.
“Despite the plaintiff tabling allegations of fraud, bribery and policy breaches and misprocurements to his line manager, the head of compliance and the chief operating officer, the reports did not receive attention and action,” reads the statement of claim.
Mr Chichoni said in 2014 the chief operating officer gave him a service proposal and told him that it had come from the board chairperson and shortly a man by the name of Kedrick Sikazwe frequented his office and called him on a number of times to find out if it had been considered despite being informed that his company was not qualified to service Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).
He said in 2015 he was charged with poor performance and given two hours to sign the charged sheet failure to which he would suffer consequences and that the instructions were from above.
He said a disciplinary hearing was held but the charge was withdrawn and he was again questioned by the chief financial officer over the awarding of medical health insurance to a company even when the
decision was not unilateral.
He said in 2016 he was given a poor performance rating despite the good performance that was recorded among the top of the Barclays Africa 12 countries.
Mr Chichoni wants an order that the treatment through the line management amounted to constructive dismissal and an order that the decision to charge him and to circumvent the grievance procedure
amounted to constructive dismissal.
He also wants damages as compensation for constructive dismissal, loss of employment, breach of duty of care and emotional stress and costs
incidental to the proceedings