Ex-Barclays Banker Loses Unfair Dismissal Suit Over Offhand Joke

An ex-Barclays Plc investment banker, who alleged that an offhand comment taken out of context cost him his job, lost an unfair dismissal lawsuit after a London court ruled he had demonstrated dishonest conduct.

Mathew Humphrey, an assistant vice president on equity derivatives in London, was dismissed in October 2024 after the bank found that he had tried to cover up a potential client fee error. An internal probe later found no issues with the fee however, dismissing him was reasonable, an employment judge ruled.

“Regardless of the ultimate outcome, he had been dishonest about an issue of potentially serious impact,” Judge Victoria Othen said in her ruling. “He had decided to conceal it and had attempted to persuade a more junior colleague to do the same.”

In January 2024, Humphrey’s junior colleague raised the possible client fee error. He told the junior not to disclose the issue as it could “open a can of worms,” according to lawyers for Barclays.

Humphrey said the junior colleague misunderstood the joke and the bank decided to take the joke out of context as it wanted to get rid of him. “I need to appeal and clear my name and ideally get some compensation to help me get back on my feet and find another job,” Humphrey said during the hearing.

An email and LinkedIn message to Humphrey weren’t immediately answered. Humphrey, who represented himself in court, previously denied any wrongdoing and said that he escalated the issue to management. A spokesperson for Barclays didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The bank’s lawyers denied all his allegations at the court hearing.

“I misjudged the situation and regret making the joke. But what I’m being accused of has been taken much further than a flippant joke,” Humphrey said in a witness statement prepared for the August trial.