Standard Bank, accused of workplace abuse, must pay sacked employee R1.7 million

Standard Bank will have to pay a former employee R1.7 million for unfairly dismissing her in December 2023. (Gallo Images/Brendan Croft)

The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has ordered Standard Bank to pay almost R1.7 million in compensation to a former employee it says was dismissed following a series of unfounded complaints ranging from racism to harassment.

In a damning decision, CCMA Chief Commissioner Eleanor Hambidge awarded the bank’s former head of global markets compliance, Christine Lawson, nine months’ pay after firing her on December 19, 2023.

She also found that the investigation into Lawson was “materially flawed” because it was based on unsubstantiated allegations from several of his colleagues, all of whose testimony was ignored or dismissed as dishonest.