The founder of listed City firm Rosenblatt has described ‘career-threatening allegations’ against him by a former employee as ‘scandalous’ and a ‘complete fabrication’.
Ian Rosenblatt gave evidence yesterday in an ongoing hearing of claims of racial discrimination, unfair dismissal and breach of contract brought by Noel Deans, the firm’s former head of employment.
Rosenblatt’s parent company, RBL Law Limited, former chief executive Nicola Foulston, founder and senior partner Ian Rosenblatt and director and compliance officer Anthony Field deny all claims against them.
Cross-examined yesterday over allegedly greeting Deans with a 'fistbump' - which Rosenblatt said he did not recall - Rosenblatt said if he did it, it would have been because he was pleased to see Deans.
When Deans put to Rosenblatt that he would not greet a ‘white partner or even fee earner’ with a fistbump, Rosenblatt said: ‘You do not know me Mr Deans. It is quite obvious you absolutely do not know me. When I greet friends and colleagues who are white in that way, it is not because of their colour, it is because it is a friendly greeting.’
To Deans' allegation that Rosenblatt 'saw street rather than professional’, Rosenblatt said: 'That is an outrageous, appalling, disgraceful, shameful, vile remark to make.’
Rosenblatt told the tribunal Deans was a ‘very small part’ of his working life.
Speaking of the IPO dinner where Foulston used a racist expression, Rosenblatt said: ‘I immediately called out what she said as being utterly unacceptable. I said immediately "you simply cannot say that". You know I had called out, you mischaracterised the way I did it.
‘She apologised, she became flustered. She was clearly taken by surprise by my intervention, the room went very quiet. It was a very embarrassing moment, there was not anything else to say or do.’
Describing the racist word and offensive phrase as ‘repugnant’, Rosenblatt added: ‘She was under no illusions nor was anybody else about my strength of feeling, how I felt, about the use of that phrase.’
Rosenblatt told the tribunal he spoke to Foulston about the need for diversity training – a claim which Foulston denies.
When asked if he would expect someone who receives a racist comment to report it to human resources, Rosenblatt said: ‘Of course I would. In the same way as I would expect you, having witnessed the racist comment in my house, to have reported it to HR. Nobody in that room that evening reported her comment to anybody. I did not need to in my opinion because I immediately called out what she was saying as unacceptable.
‘If you’re suggesting we all had an obligation…you did not [report it] either,’ he told Deans.
Rosenblatt also told the tribunal he was unaware of Deans’ alleged protected disclosure.
Rosenblatt told the tribunal Deans’ version of events of their meeting following Deans’ resignation letter was a ‘complete fabrication’. However he said he did call Deans an antisemite and lost his temper after being ‘falsely accused…of tapping people’s telephones and bugging the office’.
He added: ‘Your resignation letter certainly did tip me over the edge because it was a complete pack of lies. You were making career-threatening allegations against me. These allegations you made against me are horrendous and you think that I am not entitled to be angry about what we have said then I do not know what kind of person you actually are. This is a total fabrication and total manipulation of the facts.’
The hearing continues.
