Deloitte paid former diversity chief £8m after she was cleared of bullying allegations
Accountancy giant Deloitte has paid its former head of “diversity of inclusion” as much as £8m, after she stepped down from her role last year following allegations of bullying.
City sources told The Telegraph that Deloitte’s former deputy chief executive, Dimple Agarwal, received severance pay of between £7m and £8m, after an internal investigation cleared her of bullying.
The multi-million-pound severance payout comes after staff at the Big Four firm claimed the former head of “people and purpose” had forced employees to work long hours and that she had communicated aggressively.
The auditor received more than a dozen complaints that Agarwal had demanded staff work late into the night and attend extremely early meetings, as they claimed she had spoken aggressively on calls and via emails.
The former managing partner later stood down from her role after an investigation was launched following the submission of more than a dozen complaints about Agarwal’s behaviour.
The investigation later cleared Agarwal of any wrongdoing as it resulted in no findings of any bullying.
Prior to leaving Deloitte, Agarwal had led campaigns within the accountancy company over parental leave, ethnic and gender equality, and mental wellbeing.
Agarwal’s exit from Deloitte came after Bill Michael, UK chairman of KPMG, was forced to leave his position after he told KPMG staff to “stop moaning” about their working conditions.