Bankers ready to sue if bonuses too small
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/8987836/Bankers-ready-to-sue-if-bonuses-too-small.html
British banks should brace themselves for claims from "disgruntled" bankers who will not roll over and accept lower bonuses than usual despite the huge public and shareholder backlash against out-of-control pay, legal experts have warned. One claim for £1.5m is understood to have already made its way into the system last year, after a banker believed their 2011 bonus was too low. The case is believed to have been rejected before it got to court, with lawyers acting for the bank branding the claim "whimsical".
Judges are also said to be unsympathetic towards bankers' claims that their bonuses are too small in the current climate. However, City lawyers said an increasing number of bankers were building cases in preparation of lower bonus payouts and were prepared to fight it out at court.
Richard Fox, employment partner at law firm Kingsley Napley, said: "We're seeing an increase in bankers seeking advice on their options. There are people [who will be] disgruntled they are getting less bonuses so why wouldn't they? "Particularly if their team is doing well, or the UK is doing as well as it could despite the bank doing badly in other departments like the Swiss or French arm." He said he had held discussions with bankers in recent weeks over the "wriggle room" in their contracts which could be exploited.
Bankers who did not "trust" the reward they received could work out what they thought they should have got based on a calculation of the bank's profits and their share in the type of bonus pool available, he said. "These are the areas in which we hope to achieve something," Mr Fox said, adding bankers "are not the sort of people that don't consider their options".
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