City banker infuriated' after receiving 'mere' £300,000 bonus

A banker who became "infuriated" after only receiving a "mere" £300,000 bonus has had an unfair dismissal claim thrown out by a court.

Fabio Filippi had worked for BNP Paribas in London since 1999, but in 2012 he was transferred to the Italian office as the head of retail and private banking distribution.

He was given a basic salary of £210,000, and between 2009 and 2016, Filippi made £3.25 million in bonuses.

In 2009 alone he was given £700,000 after he and his team brought in up to £17million for the business.

Having moved to Milan, an employment tribunal was told the outputs he and his team were producing had decreased.

At a performance review in 2017, he was told that senior company members were unsatisfied with his work, and there had been complaints from his team that he "tended to micromanage, lacked clarity in presenting team objectives and held lengthy meetings before indiscriminately large audiences without clear agendas or targets."

In March of that year, his bosses sat him down to say he would be getting a €400,000 (£335,000) bonus - €140,000 (£117,000) less than the previous year.

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An employment tribunal was told Filippi was "infuriated" by the decision to award the "mere" sum, and said it was unacceptable.

He shouted at his bosses and claimed he was being treated unfairly because he was "not French and not based in Paris," before adding he was the "best manager" and could " find a new job in a matter of a few days."

It was noted he left the meeting without saying “goodbye” or “thank you.”

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The report added: “Generally all the bonus awards were lower in 2016, but in his case the managers also took into account the fact that his performance had not been satisfactory in certain areas.”

Following the review, his progress was monitored in which it was noted there was "no evidence" he had made any new client contracts.

It was also noted he was an "expensive resource" which wasn't generating any revenue.

Fillipi's role was made redundant in November 2017, and given six months to find a new position.

Judge Grewal said Fabio getting fired was due to his ‘failure to take on board and act on the feedback given to him’.

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He said: "[Fabio] was an expensive resource who was seen as adding no value to the team at that stage.

"He was a very highly paid employee and BNP Paribas was entitled to expect him to deliver to a high standard to justify that level of remuneration.

"BNP Paribas had made it clear to him at the end of 2016 the areas in which he had fallen below the standards expected and the improvement that it expected to see.

"His reaction to the bonus made it clear that he continued to expect the same high levels of remuneration without addressing the concerns that had been raised."

The employment tribunal hearing in central London last week concluded that 'in all circumstances of the case' BNP Paribas acted reasonably in dismissing Filippi.