£40m claim tribunal case against PwC begins

A 31-year old former forensic accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers has claimed the firm ruined her career after she was made redundant from a further two jobs, and wants £40m in compensation.

Mihaela Popa, a 31 year-old Romanian, is suing PwC at a London Employment Tribunal for victimisation on the grounds of former discrimination, unfair and wrongful dismissal claims against the firm that she lost in 2007, reported the Daily Telegraph.

Popa worked for UBS and Credit Suisse after PwC, but was made redundant in both, claiming that PwC references and influence on her new employers adversely affected both positions. Her latest claim is for victimisation on the grounds of her previous race discrimination claim.

She graduated in business administration in Bucharest, where she began her career with PwC. After gaining an MBA in Chicago, she worked with the firm in London, where she claims she was promised she could become a £750,000 a year partner. However she then spent several months off sick with depression and anxiety.

As part of the opening of the tribunal yesterday, she said that derogatory comments were made about her in the firm, and PwC communicated with her next employers that left her harassed and victimised.

A PwC spokeswoman said the firm strenuously denied the allegations and head previously defended a number of complaints at an employment tribunal in 2007, where PwC was completely exonerated.

The tribunal continues.