[ by Howard Haykin ]

The thought probably has crossed your mind on several occasions at your current place of employment, but you quickly dispelled the idea as nonsense or a passing fancy.  But one ex-trader with Credit Suisse Group AG acted upon his thoughts and taken his former employer to court. 

Asif Mohamedali says his job drove him to depression and thoughts of suicide, and he sued the Swiss bank in London in a personal injury claim - after having lost a related employment tribunal case.   It's not as if Mr. Mohamedali wasn't given an opportunity to achieve personal goals and/or monetary wealth.  As a trader on the European credit desk team before being fired in 2009, he earned as much as $4.3 million a year  ---  [C-I Note:  By the way, he traded distressed debt!  Hmmm.]

Yet, Mr. Mohamedali claimed overwork and bullying by his boss led him to be hospitalized with severe depression, according to a November court filing.  He claims to have brought the issue to his manager, Eraj Shirvani - that he was struggling to cope - but was simply told to “pull yourself together” and was sent off with an expletive.  Shirvani would not respond to an email from Bloomberg, seeking his side of the story.  With this claim, Mohamedali, 36, now has sued Credit Suisse twice.  A London employment tribunal rejected an earlier lawsuit, that charged unfair dismissal and discrimination. 

The fate of former employee lawsuits have suffered a string of legal defeats in London ever since more than 100 Dresdner Kleinwort workers successfully sued Commerzbank AG for their bonuses in May 2012.  For example, a blind RBS analyst, a fired UBS trader, and a Credit Agricole whistle-blower all lost employment tribunal cases.

Tribunal Appeal.   Mohamedali’s lawyer, Chanel Alexander, would not specify how much her client was seeking in the personal injury claim, as the damages weren’t yet quantifiable. However, she did say her client was appealing the tribunal’s decision, noting the following:  “We consider our client to have a good claim for damages based on the bank’s treatment.”  

Yet, the Employment Tribunal said that Mr. Mohamedali was fired after the bank discovered he had carried out undisclosed personal trades that breached its code of conduct. In his written ruling, Employment Tribunal Judge Jonathan Ferris said that the misconduct “was extremely serious” and justified the dismissal, and that Mr. Mohamedali's evidence was unconvincing. 

In the latest lawsuit, Mohamedali claims ....  that he spent several weeks in a hospital in 2009 and continues to suffer from depression and anxiety. His unit, which traded distressed debt, lost $25 million on one day that year when an investment defaulted.  He told his wife in 2009 he wanted to commit suicide.  Mohamedali further said his work suffered because he was doing the job of several people, and had begun to suffer heart palpitations, nightmares and extreme sweating.  He argues the bank failed to provide any adequate system for managing his stress and breached its contract by permitting Shirvani’s behavior.

A Credit Suisse spokesperson said the bank "will vigorously defend these allegations, particularly in light of the decision made by the judge in the claimant’s employment tribunal claim in February 2012 which found in favor of the bank and Eraj Shirvani.”

For further details, go to:   [Bloomberg, 12/19/12].