© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A logo is seen on a Nestle building at Vers-chez-les-Blanc in Lausanne, Switzerland, August 20, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
ZURICH (Reuters) – Nestle will pay a former manager compensation of 2 million Swiss francs ($2.2 million) after a Swiss court upheld her claim that she was harassed while working at the company, the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper reported.
Yasmine Motarjemi was awarded compensation by a court in Vaud, southern Switzerland, the newspaper said on Saturday, after a 12-year legal battle.
The 67-year-old former head of global food safety complained that she felt discredited and demeaned by Nestlé employees for years and suffered such psychological damage that she had to apply for disability pension when she was 55, according to the report.
She launched her legal battle against Nestlé in 2011 after the company fired her in 2010.
His lawyer, Mathilde Bessonnet, said the payment showed that the court had recognized Motarjemi’s claim that his career had been destroyed and that his employer was fully responsible.
“Nestlé must pay my client the entire lost wage bill retrospectively, from the time of termination until retirement,” Bessonnet told the newspaper.
Motarjemi was quoted as saying: “My lawsuit against Nestlé was never about money. I wanted a court to recognize the injustice that was done to me.”
The judgment is final and Nestlé decides not to appeal. The company did not confirm the amount of compensation. “We sincerely regret almost 12 years of litigation and wish to bring this legal matter to a close,” a Nestle spokeswoman said.
Nestlé said it did not tolerate bullying and took such allegations very seriously.
($1 = 0.9236 Swiss francs)
