Fintech executive whose boss claimed she was only raising concerns about the company’s finances because she was ‘menopausal’ wins £5,500 after being inspired by #MeToo movement to pursue discrimination case

• Debbie Thomas ‘upset’ CEO Shiraz Jessa when she said Bibimoney was in trouble
• She resigned and successfully sued the company for age and sex discrimination

A senior female executive at a financial technology firm has won a discrimination case after her male boss said she only raised concerns about the company’s finances because she was ‘menopausal’.

Mother of two Debbie Thomas, then 51, ‘upset’ CEO Shiraz Jessa when she warned him that his firm, Bibimoney was in trouble and then went ‘over his head’ to suggest she buy it from him instead.

This led to a ‘souring’ in their relationship with Mr Jessa blaming Ms Thomas, then director and CFO at Bibimoney’s behaviour on the menopause. 

Ms Thomas claimed that if this ‘had happened before the MeToo movement I probably wouldn’t have thought of pursuing it.’ 

Debbie Thomas, then 51, ‘upset’ CEO Shiraz Jessa when she warned him that his firm, Bibimoney was in trouble and then went ‘over his head’ to suggest she buy it from him instead.

CEO Shiraz Jessa blamed Ms Thomas, then director and CFO at Bibimoney, behaviour on the menopause 

Following their dispute, she resigned and successfully sued the company for age and sex discrimination.

Awarding her £5,500 in compensation the tribunal found the menopause remark ‘violated her dignity’ and created an ‘intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating’ environment for her.

Speaking after the tribunal where she represented herself, Ms Thomas said she has been left traumatised by the events.

She said: ‘I was just so shocked by the whole thing.

‘I came out of the first day totally bulldozed – I was totally unprepared for it, although, I don’t know who could have prepared me.’

Discussing the ‘hurtful’ comments made by her boss, Ms Thomas said: ‘These kinds of comments, people cannot get away with.

‘You just can’t say those things anymore.

‘I have got two daughters. My 17 year old heard the comment and she was more outraged than I was.

‘If it had happened before the MeToo movement I probably wouldn’t have thought of pursuing it.

‘My whole professional career – all of it was just diminished by that one comment.

‘It was more hurtful than anything, it just diminished everything.’

She added: ‘I did it for all the woman in that firm. I felt like I had to do it – just to show him that it’s wrong.’

Jessa and Ms Thomas who had worked together at his firm Bibimoney which specialises in providing software for mobile payments since 2016

Ms Thomas pictured with her two daughters, who she lives with in London

The hearing was told that the chartered accountant was appointed as director and CFO of London-based Bibimoney – which specialises in providing software for mobile payments – in the autumn of 2016.

In February 2022 she met Mr Jessa – who with family members was the majority shareholder – at his home.

‘In this meeting [Ms Thomas] says that she set out the current issues that the respondent had regarding funding,’ the tribunal heard.

‘[She] also made a proposal to Mr Jessa that he and his family allow the management team (which comprised [Ms Thomas] and her partner, Mr Martin Hine) to buy them out so that they could take ownership.’

The tribunal heard that following the meeting Ms Thomas sent an email to Mr Jessa setting out the proposal and the financial issues she had explained.

Four days later she sent the same email to Mr Jessa’s cousin and father, who were also shareholders in the company.

‘[Ms Thomas] alleges that following that email being sent, she suffered a number of detriments,’ the tribunal said.

‘[She] alleges that on the 9th February 2022, Mr Jessa told another member of the company that he thought she was acting the way she was because she was menopausal.’

The central London hearing was told that Ms Thomas was concerned that without extra funding the company would become insolvent within four months which she worried would jeopardise her status as a chartered accountant.

‘[Ms Thomas] wrote to [Bibimoney] shareholders on the 23rd March 2022 to request repayment of a large debt of over £2 million [the company] owed to her,’ the tribunal said.

‘In response to this demand, she was removed as a director.’

The following month Mr Hine was made redundant, following which Ms Thomas resigned and took the firm to the tribunal.

The panel – chaired by Employment Judge Kevin Singh – said: ‘It was clear to the panel that the proposals put forward by [Ms Thomas] at the meeting…and the very act of going over Mr Jessa’s head as it were and sending the letter to his father and his cousin had upset him and, inevitably the relationship had soured.’

The tribunal concluded that Mr Jessa’s menopause comment, which he denied making, had been made.

Ms Thomas, who is now aged 53, had been the victim of both age and sex discrimination and harassment as a result, it said.

‘It was clear that a hypothetical male or younger female comparator would not have had such a comment made to them due to the very nature of the comment.

‘The tribunal heard from [Ms Thomas] how upsetting the comment was to her and so agreed the comment amounted to unwanted conduct which had the purpose or effect of violating the claimant’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for [her] and was related to sex or age.’

Her additional claims of unfair dismissal and that she had been unfairly treated for flagging her concerns were rejected.

Ms Thomas started working at a new company in January this year, and said her partner started a business after he was let go.

She added: ‘I was 51 when I left. I thought that was going to be my last job to be honest.

‘I put my heart and soul into it.’

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