A former vice president at Goldman Sachs is seeking £3.8 million ($5 million) in a sex-discrimination lawsuit against the investment bank. He alleged that the bank unfairly dismissed his employment after taking six months of paternity leave.
Jonathan Reeves, who worked in Goldman Sachs’ compliance department in London, claims his termination occurred shortly after he returned from paternity leave in 2022. In court filings, Reeves argues that his dismissal was driven by the bank’s disapproval of male employees taking extended parental leave. He asserts that this, rather than the performance issues cited by Goldman Sachs, was the true reason for his firing.
The former employee contended that senior management at Goldman displayed negativity toward male employees who took lengthy paternity leave or faced childcare responsibilities. He was informed, just before his return, that his role was at risk due to alleged underperformance, marking the first time in his 15-year career he had received such feedback. His dismissal was confirmed within five weeks, a decision his legal team claims would not have been made if Reeves had been a vfemale employee in a similar role.
Goldman Sachs, however, disputes the allegations, asserting that Reeves’ dismissal was based on longstanding performance issues. The bank pointed out that Reeves’ work had been evaluated against both male and female colleagues, dismissing claims of gender discrimination.
Additionally, the bank revealed that after his departure, it became aware that Reeves had covertly recorded several meetings during his time as a compliance officer, which the firm described as a serious breach of conduct.
Goldman introduced a 26-week paid parental leave policy for all new parents in 2019, benefitting both fathers and mothers. In the UK, parental leave provisions are generally more generous than in the US, and the current government has proposed further extending paternity and unpaid parental leave from the first day of employment.
