The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Scotiabank (Bahamas) has been hit with a $2.4 million wrongful dismissal claim from an ex-manager of its "flagship" branch, who claims he was forced out after being identified as "a problem".

Darron Bowe, who headed its Rawson Square outlet, is alleging that the bank moved to push him out after he objected to a performance review (PAR) that failed to account for the impact of a 16-month construction project on his branch's operations.

Claiming that this exposed both staff and customers "to potentially hazardous materials, including asbestos", Mr Bowe said his refusal to participate in a scheme where Scotiabank (Bahamas) staff sold customers "products they did not necessarily need" also contributed to his demise.

Mr Bowe's 'statement of claim', filed on January 30, 2018, alleges: "The plaintiff was constructively dismissed by the defendant [Scotiabank] in August 2016 on the basis that he had become a 'problem' to the defendant by refusing to partake in a scheme whereby unsuspecting customers... were sold financial products they did not need."

He claimed this was tied to a staff compensation arrangement where employees would be paid "based on the marketing of units..... in order to meet unrealistic sales goals".

The former branch manager also argued that his performance review was carried out incorrectly, and was "inaccurate and inconsistent" with appraisals carried out for similar branches.

And his "refusal to be silent when there were real concerns about the health and safety of the defendant's staff and customers at Main Branch", due to the ongoing construction project, was identified as a further strike against him.

Sean Albert, Scotiabank (Bahamas) managing director, did not respond to Tribune Business's phone and e-mail messages seeking comment before press deadline last night.

However, it is thought that the Canadian-owned commercial bank will vigorously refute Mr Bowe's allegations and challenge his $2.4 million claim.

It is understood that Scotiabank (Bahamas) and its attorneys, Graham, Thompson & Company, believe there is nothing in the law to support the sum the ex-Rawson Square branch manager is seeking.

The bank is also thought to believe its compensation offer to Mr Bowe is far more generous than what is required under the Bahamas' governing statute law, namely the Employment Act 2001 and its subsequent amendments.

Mr Bowe, though, only initiated legal action after efforts to broker a resolution via the Department of Labour's conciliation services failed to produce a satisfactory outcome.

Speaking briefly to Tribune Business yesterday, Mr Bowe, a 27-year Scotiabank veteran, blamed a change in the bank's culture that had seen it move from a people, customer-focused organisation to one solely motivated by profits.

"I joined the bank back in September 1989, and from when I joined the bank it was a family-centred institution," he recalled. "It has changed now to a profit-driven institution, concerned only about the bottom line.

"The bank is interested in sales, not people. If you want to get a loan for a car, they will drive you to get the car, but if you want a loan to start a business they want every form of collateral you and your family have."

Mr Bowe argued that he, and his Rawson Square staff, were "not treated favourably and equitably" over the 16-month construction project's impact. He argued that Scotiabank's main Barbados branch, where similar renovation work was carried out, was allowed to alter its financial targets accordingly but not his.

"It was not a good environment, and they pushed us to get 100 per cent of our targets in loans and revenues," he said. "Because we didn't achieve that, we were rated accordingly. They gave us a poor rating, and that affects your livelihood.

"The year before the construction we did excellent. The year after the construction, the bank [Rawson Square] did excellent. During the construction we did not do excellently. The component was the banking environment. That was the main thing you have to look at."

Mr Bowe's lawsuit alleges that the construction work at Rawson Square lasted from late October 2014 to February 2016, and its negative effects would have likely been known by both Scotiabank's regional and global head offices.

"These works impacted severely on the ability of Main Branch to operate at full capacity," the action alleged. "This fact is singularly recorded as early as March 23, 2015, by Colleen Daniels, sales manager and service coach in the Bahamas managing director's office, in her Branch Review Tool Report who noted 'major renovations which have significantly impacted the customer experience'."

Scotiabank presented him with a completed PAR of his performance in late 2015. No review meeting was held, and Mr Bowe was allegedly told to sign-off on it. He refused, disagreeing with both the contents and absence of a review.

Mr Bowe laid out his concerns "in no uncertain terms" in a December 15, 2015, e-mail. These included the replacement of his personal banking manager and personal banking officer with allegedly inexperienced trainees who he had to "hand hold" and train on the job, placing himself and Rawson Square at "a disadvantage" due to the importance of these posts.

The former manager added that Rawson Square was also impacted by Scotiabank's branch consolidations, alleging: "The plaintiff had inherited branches around the country that were located in non-performing areas and with less staff.

"This had a huge impact on the goals that the plaintiff had been set, as the goals did not take into account the underperformance of those branches."

With Scotiabank (Bahamas) allegedly continuing to insist that he sign-off on his PAR, Mr Bowe wrote to the bank's global chief executive, Brian Porter, on January 25, 2016, after concluding that his "legitimate and constructive concerns" relating to these issues and the construction works were not being taken seriously.

Mr Bowe's letter set out his concerns that "his name had been muddied within the bank", with the performance appraisal making no mention of "the hazardous conditions" that were impacting staff working conditions and financial performance at Rawson Square.

He alleged that such conditions included Scotiabank staff "performing janitorial duties in a vain attempt to make Main Branch look presentable"; a lack of phone and computer services at times during working hours; a lack of ceiling lighting and air conditioning during summer months; exposure to hazardous materials including asbestos; construction noise, dust and odors.

Mr Bowe said staff attempted to come into work at the weekend in a bid to catch up, only to find the same construction work was going on.

"One staff member, who the managing director's office had no space for, was assigned to work from a desk at the Main Branch in its back office," he alleged. "He stayed at the Main Branch for only two hours and requested to be moved as he could not stop coughing due to the dust from the construction works."

Mr Bowe's letter informed Scotiabank's global chief executive about the potential health hazards to staff and customers, and the alleged absence of a "containment plan", with the conditions "clearly in breach of health and safety standards".

He also complained that the Cable Beach and Freeport branches had been rated as 'meeting expectations' in their PARs, despite not hitting their financial targets - even in the absence of similar construction works.

Mr Bowe alleged that no response was received from Scotiabank's Canadian head office, and instead he received a reply from Keenan Johnson in the bank's Bahamas head office on February 12, 2016.

None of his concerns were purportedly addressed, which was described as "an incredible state of affairs". And, on the same day, he received an e-mail from the same Mr Johnson saying the bank wanted him to take 60 days' vacation.

"This was clearly in response to his concerns about Main Branch and the PAR, and is evidence that the defendant was beginning the process that would result in his constructive dismissal," the lawsuit alleged.

"Mr Bowe also believes this request was linked not only to his concerns about the PAR and safety conditions of Main Branch, but also because he had refused to partake in a sales scheme whereby the bank encouraged its staff to sell products to customers which they did not necessarily need."

The former manager alleged that Scotiabank staff were offered incentive-based commissions dependent on the number of financial products they sold to customers. If "dollar and unit" targets were exceeded in a particular year, an employee would receive a salary increase and be awarded with a bonus.

"Therefore, many members of staff in other branches forced products on to customers and were encouraged to do so by the defendant," Mr Bowe's lawsuit alleges. "The mandate was a minimum of three units per customer.

"Units help the bank earn non-interest revenue, and if the member of staff did not do this they were placed on the Performance Improvement Programme. This programme prevented the member of staff from getting any loans, salary increases or bonuses from the bank.

"The programme would then be used to fire that member of staff the following year if he or she did not achieve 100 per cent in all areas. An example of how this worked in practice and affected customers was in one instance where a customer came into the bank wishing to open a deposit account," the claim continued.

"The customer wished to deposit $10,000 with the bank. Instead of opening one deposit account, that customer was convinced to open up 10 separate accounts, thereby earning the staff member 10 separate units and credits accordingly. Mr Bowe had vocally refused to implement that policy, and believes as a result he was seen as a problem within the bank."

Mr Bowe's lawsuit likened the "sales scheme" to events at Wells Fargo in the US from 2011 to 2016, when bank employees created more than 1.5 million unauthorised deposit accounts and 500,000 credit card applications in a bid to hit sales and fee targets. That bank paid $185 million in fines as a result.

Believing his concerns had been "swept under the carpet", Mr Bowe met with Mr Albert in late July 2016. The latter gave him three options: Accept the PAR and stay in his post; relocate to another branch and "in effect take a demotion", or accept early retirement.

Mr Bowe, in an August 2, 2016, letter accepted early retirement believing "he had no choice but to take this option". However, he requested a $2.4 million pay-off - a sum representing one year's salary for each year worked.

Scotiabank (Bahamas), though, offered him $126,323, which included an ex-gratia payment of $29,723. As a result, Mr Bowe is claiming damages for constructive and wrongful dismissal, and for breach of his employment contract.

He is being represented by attorney Michael Scott of Scott & Co.