Bank's reference 'sabotage'

A City firm sabotaged a woman's attempt to rebuild her career after she won a £1million sex harassment case against them, it was claimed today.

Elizabeth Weston, 30, says Merrill Lynch took revenge by providing "damning" references to prospective employers.

She told a London tribunal she was sickened by the company's " victimisation" as she tried to put the bitterlycontested case behind her. Mrs Weston said she was described as "average" by the firm when she tried to gain places on MBA courses at leading US institutions.

Mrs Weston said the references "put paid" to her chances of getting on the sought-after courses. She told the London tribunal: "I have been devastated by how the respondents have behaved towards me. After everything that had happened, and with the litigation behind me, this was an opportunity to start afresh.

"Imagine the psychological blow dealt to me when I came to the view that my former colleagues would hamper my career plans because of my complaints of discrimination."

When Mrs Weston saw the letter of recommendation provided by her former manager, Nicholas Hall, she experienced a "wave of nausea".

She added: "I was deeply and profoundly distressed, not so much by the realisation that I would have to defer my career plans, as by the continuing victimisation I suffer at the hands of MLIM [Merrill Lynch Investment Managers]. Nicholas had re-opened wounds from the first proceedings that had just about started to heal.

"This was done in order to victimise me for complaining about the unlawful sexual harassment I had suffered within the Law & Compliance department, headed by Nicholas."

Last year Mrs Weston, a solicitor, sued the company for sex discrimination, victimisation and constructive dismissal.

She told a tribunal then that a colleague made "disgusting and lewd" comments to her after getting drunk at a Christmas party.

In her out-of-court settlement with Merrill Lynch, the company agreed to provide an honest reference and pay for her tuition fees if she were successful in enrolling for an MBA course in America.

She applied to five business schools: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Wharton and Columbia.

In the reference provided by Mr Hall for Columbia he assessed her overall performance as "average" and ignored key questions by claiming he did not have enough information to comment.

Mrs Weston said: "Nicholas would have known that by describing my performance as 'average' that would be the death knell for any chance that I would have had to be offered a place."

She said Mr Hall failed to use Mrs Weston's name in any of the references and referred to her variously as "she" or "the applicant". He also failed to leave any contact details, making it difficult for the universities to get in touch with him.

Mrs Weston is now suing Merrill Lynch for £30,000 for victimisation under the Sex Discrimination Act. Merrill Lynch denies the allegations. A spokesman said: "We believe this is an opportunistic claim without merit." The case continues.