BNP Paribas Broker Wins $2.7 Million in Her Equal Pay Suit

(Bloomberg) -- A broker at BNP Paribas SA in London was awarded 2 million pounds ($2.7 million) by an employment judge who chastised the bank's “opaque pay system” and ordered a first of its kind equal pay audit to reveal if men do get paid more than women at the lender.

Stacey Macken, a prime brokerage product manager who still works at the bank, successfully complained about being paid less than male colleagues. The payout ranks among the largest in the U.K. in an equal pay suit.

The order for an equal pay audit of salary, bonus and other compensation against an investment bank is the first of its kind, Macken's lawyer Sheila Aly said in a statement.

“This case has the potential to not only close the gender pay gap but to send a clear message to the industry that this kind of discrimination is not acceptable,” she said.

Macken, said during the trial she was continually given lower bonuses than male staff and said she wanted the bank to conduct an extensive pay audit “to ensure no other female employees are being discriminated against.”

On one occasion, Macken came into work to find a witch's hat on her desk, placed there by a group including the head of the unit who'd been out drinking the night before.

BNP Broker Who Saw Witch's Hat on Desk Wins Employment Suit

The tribunal found that BNP had “an opaque pay system in common with other financial organizations.”

“The logical conclusion was that other women working at the respondent may have been in the same position as the claimant,” Employment Judge Emma Burns said in the ruling.

BNP's conduct was “spiteful and vindictive,” Burns said.

“We at BNP Paribas understand that we fell short in our duty to Ms. Macken,” a bank spokesperson said. “We are actively considering the Tribunal's judgment to see what we can learn. Our aim is to ensure that all of our people are treated with the respect they deserve at all times.”