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He Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has come under fire from a London judge after he sacked a “high-net-worth” employee who deposited thousands of pounds in personal expenses on a corporate credit card because his wallet was stolen.
In a case that highlights the potential dangers to employers and staff in the use of corporate cardsManaging director of the UK-based CPPIB, one of the world’s largest pension fund managers, was dismissed for gross misconduct after using his work card to pay for personal items, including a stay at a five-star hotel in Venice.
Simon Price, who worked in active stocks, charged £11,700 to the American Express card, including British Airways flights to Albania, the Central London Employment Tribunal found.
But the court said he did so only because his personal card had been stolen during a trip to New York in August 2023. Price said he intended, and initially received approval, to pay the company back under its system of “reverse expenses”.
After being sacked, he took the case to the employment tribunal, which awarded him £25,000 in damages, according to a document published on Thursday.
The judge criticized CPPIB’s handling of the case and concluded that it had dabbled in “sensitive and personal” matters during its investigations.
Price’s manager had approved the reverse expense claim and did not appear to have had any concerns about it, employment judge Davidson concluded.
The company told Price that he could get rid of the associated documentation and that the amount would be deducted from his payroll.
But he was subsequently contacted by human resources in Canada, “asking the amount of the deduction and the reasons for it,” according to the court.
The company discovered that the person with whom he traveled to Albania was not his daughter, as Price had initially claimed, but his girlfriend.
When a company representative asked him about it, Price said he “did not like to talk about his divorce” and that his family life “was not something he wanted to share with someone he had never met,” according to the ruling.
Following the meeting, in January 2024 the company “made the decision to dismiss the plaintiff for serious misconduct with immediate effect.”
In the ruling, the judge said: “I accept your evidence that you did not want to share information that you considered sensitive and personal. . . where the information itself was unimportant.”
“He had returned all the money in full and didn’t want to go into the details of what he did and who he did it with.”
The company appears to “disapprove of the plaintiff’s lifestyle choices,” which was not relevant to determining whether it had breached the contract, Judge Davidson said.
“It is not for the defendant to suggest that he should stay in a more modest hotel in Venice,” the judge said. “The claimant earns a lot and has the right to spend what was ultimately his money as he sees fit.”
“There is no indication that he attempted to gain advantage by using the corporate card,” Judge Davidson added.
CPPIB, which declined to comment on the case, manages pension assets for more than 22 million Canadians with C$632 billion (£352 billion) under management, according to its latest annual report.
It opened its London office in 2008, where it employs almost 250 people. British assets in its portfolio include stakes in student accommodation provider Unite Students and Birmingham’s Bullring shopping centre.
Price could not be reached for comment.