Ex UK Goldman Sachs manager seeks $1.27 million over harm from "dysfunctional" workplace

By Kirstin Ridley

LONDON (Reuters) - A former senior Goldman Sachs manager is seeking around 1.0 million pounds ($1.27 million) from the Wall Street bank in London over allegations that bullying and a dysfunctional workplace destroyed his physical and psychological health.

Ian Dodd, a 55-year-old former global head of recruitment, who joined the bank in November 2018, alleges that in-fighting between managers, a "relentless workload" and high emotion during team meetings left him with atrial fibrillation, depression and suicidal.

"At the majority of team meetings, at least one member of the team often ended up in tears or exhibited stress behaviours...," he said in documents filed in London's High Court and seen by Reuters on Thursday.

Goldman Sachs said Dodd only worked at the bank for a few weeks before taking sick leave in April 2019 and that he repeatedly ignored guidance from his managers to reduce a "self-imposed workload".

He did not inform bosses that he was overworked or concerned about his wellbeing, the bank said in its own court filings.

"If he felt pressure, it was self-generated; it was not imposed on him. If he did work excessive hours, this was not because it was required or expected of him," Goldman Sachs said.

Dodd had emailed his line manager on Nov. 14, 2018, to say his first days had been intensive but had "reaffirmed why Goldman Sachs is a wonderful place for me to be right now", the bank added in the filings.

"We believe these claims are completely without merit," said a London-based spokesperson for Goldman Sachs. Dodd's lawyer declined to comment further given the ongoing litigation.

In a claim for personal injury, loss and damage, Dodd alleges the bank was negligent and breached its duties by failing to ensure he could fulfil his obligations and failing to set realistic targets and expectations while permitting a culture of dysfunction and bullying.

By April 2019, Dodd said he started to feel physically and mentally burnt out, becoming "disorientated and palpably distressed" because his employer's "unrealistic expectations" prompted him to work "unreasonable and excessive hours" with a lack of support from senior leadership partners.

"The intense pressure ... culminated in him wanting to take his own life," the filings said.

Dodd, who left Goldman Sachs in 2021, according to his LinkedIn page, said he now suffered from serious depression, that had devastated his life, and would be unlikely to return to similarly senior employment if he recovered.

A trial has been pencilled in for between January and March 2025.

($1 = 0.7859 pounds)

(Reporting by Kirstin Ridley; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)