Clarks has won an employment tribunal against its former chief executive Mike Shearwood following the case of unfair dismissal he brought against the footwear brand.
In a statement, Clarks said that the judge in an employment tribunal had rejected claims made by Shearwood, who claimed he had been dismissed by the retailer for trying to blow the whistle on questionable accounting practices and corporate governance.
“Clarks welcomes the tribunal’s ruling and the rejection of Mr Shearwood’s claims,” the retailer said. “It has always been Clarks belief the allegations raised by Mr Shearwood were unfounded. With the tribunal ruling as it has, we this matter will now remain closed.”
Shearwood alleged at an employment tribunal in Bristol this week that he was given a list of allegations at a board meeting last June, just hours before his departure was announced. He claimed he was not given a chance to respond to misconduct claims.
Clarks accused Shearwood of a number of misdemeanours during his time as chief executive, including referring to people of colour as “violent”, calling an Asian woman a “thing”, describing a representative from one of Clarks’ wholesale customers as a “f*****g faggot”, and asking a female member of staff intrusive questions about her sexuality.
Shearwood denied the claims, insisting that he either did not make the comments at all, or that they were taken out of context.
Clarks said it stood by its decision to dismiss Shearwood.
“We stand by our decision in relation to Mr Shearwood’s departure and are pleased to see the tribunal rule in our favour. We made it clear at the time of Mr Shearwood’s resignation that we would make no further comment on the particulars of his conduct and intend to maintain that stance.
The former Clarks boss has been contacted for comment.
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