Splunk sales ace wins sex discrimination case after new boss handed her key accounts to blokes deemed 'flight risks'
- Reference: 1597257606
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/08/12/splunk_sales_discrimination_case/
- Source link:
Nadine Lee left the US-headquartered company shortly after taking a six-month sabbatical – during which her key accounts were stripped from her by a newly hired sales director, who handed them to men he brought in during her absence.
Bosses at Splunk had agreed that Lee, who earned £744,000 in the year before her departure, would keep her accounts after she returned from sabbatical – yet she lost the ones that saw her bring in $22.7m for the company in fiscal 2018.
Judges at the Central London Employment Tribunal upheld Lee's complaint of sex discrimination in a ruling published late last week. It also found that she was constructively dismissed from Splunk.
In 2018 a newly hired UK sales director, Steven Gracey, reallocated Lee's accounts to newly hired salesmen whom he thought might become a "flight risk". Even though the previous UK sales chief, Colin Ferguson, described Lee's performance as "incredible", Gracey took her accounts off her to ensure the salesmen he had brought in didn't quit.
One of those salesmen was Raj Dosanjh, a former colleague of Gracey's from his time at Adobe. Dosanjh, who was of the same seniority as Lee, was hired on a higher basic salary than his female colleague. Lee had a £95,000 base salary with £190,000 in on-target earnings (OTE) commission, while Dosanjh was earning £110,000 in base and £220,000 OTE.
Although both Dosanjh and fellow salesman Mark Laws were seen as a "flight risk" by Gracey, the men got different treatment. As the tribunal judgment recounted:
But whereas Mr Gracey gave large accounts to two men to stop them leaving, he removed her three best accounts from the claimant and instead of offering her something large by way of compensation and good faith, he offered her a string of small and nondescript accounts.
"The claimant was a top performer, if not the top performer, in the EMEA division for many years," said Employment Judge Lewis, chairman of the three-strong tribunal panel. His full judgment is [1]on GOV.UK .
The tribunal did not uphold Lee's claim that Splunk HR business partner Julie Ward had actively discriminated against her on the grounds of her sex, though Ward played a key role in the events leading to her resignation. Neither did it uphold the claim against former UK COO Guy Bloch.
Lee's compensation for discrimination and constructive dismissal has yet to be set, with the tribunal pencilling in a further hearing later this year for legal argument about it.
Splunk spokesman Alex Harking claimed in a one-line statement to The Register that the company "does not tolerate discrimination in any form", adding: "We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment." ®
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[1] https://www.gov.uk/employment-tribunal-decisions/ms-n-lee-v-splunk-services-uk-ltd-and-others-2205740-2018
[2] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Oh?
The company "does not tolerate discrimination in any form", we will fix it by being horrible to discrimination victims so they quit the company; that removes the discrimination.
"We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment", one that includes the old boys club and not any women.
Re: Oh?
"We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment."
Yes, so long as you are male and and being white probably helps.
How the hell does the likes of Steven Gracey get to the top of these companies?
Surely someone must have spotted what a complete arse he was. Or is that the reason. Like attracting like.
Re: Oh?
Since one of the males given her accounts was named Raj Dosanjh, I'm not sure about the "white" part. The rest of your comment is spot on, though.
Re: Oh?
"How the hell does the likes of Steven Gracey get to the top of these companies?"
Have you . . . have you met high-ranking tech salescritters? The only value they provide in society is deep customer acquisition spending accounts (i.e. paying for endless high-end single malts and fancy steak dinners) and, once the spending account is dry, feeding the pigs.
> Splunk spokesman Alex Harking claimed in a one-line statement to The Register that the company "does not tolerate discrimination in any form", adding: "We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment."
I'm a fan of Splunk, but the next time you see a statement from them remember that they are empty words.
You can say "we disagree with the tribunal and will be appealing", or "we are disappointed in the ruling" or "we are reviewing the decision to plan a constructive path forward".
Saying 'none of our internal rules or policies were broken' after a ruling that they broke the law suggests that they are fostering an inclusive environment for sociopaths.
"they are fostering an inclusive environment for sociopaths."
Yes: technology sales management, three words which, when used together, should prompt the listener to watch his or her back and wallet and have a clear path to an escape route.
if only...
...there was a program you could run through your HR databases to pick up obvious data like this.
Re: if only...
Megan's Law?
We are committed to keeping our stable doors bolted- and do not tolerate letting horses wander out onto the motorway in the rush hour. It was just unfortunate about that one
No wonder Splunk is so bloody expensive if they are paying sales people £744k!
Oh?
Splunk spokesman Alex Harking claimed in a one-line statement to The Register that the company "does not tolerate discrimination in any form",
The judge thinks you do mate.
"We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment."
Well, not that inclusive.