Ex-Deloitte manager claims Deloitte defrauded VW and ignored #MeToo allegations
A former manager at Deloitte has accused the firm of defrauding Volkswagen and failing to investigate allegations of sexual harassment in its Stuttgart office.
The former manager, who is currently suing Deloitte for unfair dismissal, told a Stuttgart labour court that Deloitte overcharged Volkswagen, after billing the car manufacturer for more hours than it had actually worked.
The former project manager then claimed that Deloitte failed to properly investigate his claims that it had overcharged VW.
“The hours which were billed just did not make any sense,” the employee, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the Stuttgart court, according to the Financial Times.
In an email to Morning Wire, a Deloitte spokesperson said: “When this complaint was brought to our attention, we conducted a prompt and thorough investigation and determined the allegations were groundless and untrue.”
“The employee in question was unable to provide any evidence that proved his claims despite explicit requests from Deloitte.”
#MeToo
The ex-Deloitte manager also claimed the Big Four firm failed to properly investigate allegations of sexual harrasment, as he said he had lost faith in Deloitte’s systems after “a series of gross #MeToo cases” were ignored and mishandled.
“Our ethics officers were totally inactive,” the former manager told the Stuttgart court, according to reports from the Financial Times.
In an email to Morning Wire, Deloitte said: “Deloitte is deeply committed to an inclusive, respectful, and ethical work environment, and we take all concerns regarding inappropriate workplace conduct very seriously.”
“Whenever Deloitte Germany has been notified of alleged inappropriate behavior of employees in its offices including the Stuttgart site, each individual case was investigated thoroughly, and appropriate remedial action was taken where issues were identified,” the spokesperson added.
The former project manager’s claims come after he was fired from his role for forwarding work emails to a private account and reportedly “asserting and disseminating incorrect facts internally.”
The employee, who is in his early 50s, is currently suing Deloitte for unfair dismissal, after claiming he was told by managers that he was “too old” for a promotion.
In an email to Morning Wire, a Deloitte spokesperson said: “Regarding the termination, the former employee had made a large number of untrue allegations and had threatened to publish these accusations. The threat to publish unjustified accusations made a continuation of the employment relationship unreasonable.
“Furthermore he sent a large number of highly confidential documents to his private e-mail address. In doing so, he had seriously violated IT security and confidentiality regulations.”