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A senior Google employee claims she was subjected to a "relentless campaign of retaliation" by the tech giant after reporting a manager who regaled clients with explicit stories about his swinger lifestyle and showed a nude photograph of his wife. Victoria Woodall told an employment tribunal that her subsequent redundancy was a direct consequence of her whistleblowing, a charge Google vehemently denies, arguing instead that Woodall became "paranoid" and perceived normal business practices as sinister following her complaint. The tech giant’s internal investigation, documents reveal, substantiated claims of sexual harassment against the manager, who was subsequently sacked.
Woodall, who held the position of Senior Industry Head in Google’s UK Sales and Agencies team, has lodged a claim alleging that her own superior initiated a systematic effort to undermine her career after her complaint also implicated his close associates, who were later disciplined for witnessing and failing to challenge the manager’s misconduct. The tribunal has also heard allegations from Woodall of a pervasive "boys’ club" culture within the company, citing as evidence the fact that, until December 2022, Google allegedly funded a men-only "chairman’s lunch." Google has contested this, stating its internal investigation found no evidence of such a culture and that the event was discontinued as it no longer aligned with company policies. A judgment from the London Central Employment Tribunal is anticipated in the coming weeks.
The case hinges on events that began in August 2022, when Woodall was reportedly contacted by a female client who detailed an uncomfortable business lunch. During this encounter, the manager in question allegedly boasted about his sexual conquests with black women and disclosed that he and his wife were swingers, recounting an instance where they engaged in sexual activity with two women met on holiday. This unsolicited and graphic conversation, the client stated in court documents, occurred in the presence of the manager’s line manager, who made no attempt to intervene, describing the behaviour as "disgusting." Following this report, Woodall escalated the concerns to her boss, Matt Bush, the then-managing director of the agency team, prompting Google to launch an internal investigation into the manager’s conduct.
While the initial investigation was ongoing, Woodall received a second complaint from another female client. This client alleged that the same manager had, while scrolling through his phone, shown her a "picture of his wife’s vagina." These combined allegations formed the basis of a comprehensive internal inquiry by Google.
The tech giant’s investigation involved interviews with twelve individuals and uncovered further incidents that were deemed to constitute sexual harassment, in direct violation of company policies, as evidenced by emails, notes, and a copy of the investigation report submitted to the tribunal. The investigation concluded, on the balance of probabilities, that the manager had sexually harassed two female employees at a work event. This included allegations of inappropriate physical contact, such as touching one colleague’s leg during a conversation and rubbing another colleague’s back and shoulders, both without their consent. Furthermore, the manager was accused of making other inappropriate remarks, including telling a female colleague he had only just met that he was in an open marriage and that his wife would enjoy hearing about any sexual encounters he had in the office bathroom.
During Google’s internal investigation, the manager reportedly denied the allegations, stating that he did not believe he had shared details of his open relationship with his wife with his work colleagues, according to the investigation report. Ultimately, he was dismissed for gross misconduct. His line manager and another senior colleague, who were found to have failed to intervene in the manager’s behaviour, were recommended for "documented coaching." Both of these individuals were subsequently made redundant.
Woodall contends that in the period immediately following her 2022 report of sexual harassment, her boss, Matt Bush, presented her with a stark choice that effectively forced her to relinquish her highly successful client account for a struggling one. This underperforming account had previously belonged to one of the two colleagues who later faced disciplinary action due to her whistleblowing. Woodall described this manoeuvre as being handed a "poisoned chalice," which she claims rendered her vulnerable to future redundancy. She further alleges that she was subsequently demoted to a subordinate role on a significant internal project, a role that placed her under the supervision of the other senior manager implicated in her report. Her claim asserts that her boss then actively sought to downgrade her performance evaluations, among other retaliatory actions.
In his witness statement to the tribunal, Matt Bush countered these allegations, asserting that he consistently supported Woodall’s career progression and took fostering inclusivity and gender equality in hiring and promotions "very seriously." He also stated that the reassignment of accounts within the team was a "standard practice."
The redundancy process initiated by Google in 2023 led to the departures of both Matt Bush and one of the senior managers who had failed to report the sexual harassment, as indicated by court documents. In May 2023, Woodall escalated her concerns regarding the perceived "boys’ club" culture and the retaliation she believed she was enduring, reaching out to senior leadership within the organisation. Her witness statement details a meeting with Debbie Weinstein, then Vice President of Google UK and Ireland, after being informed by an HR colleague that Weinstein was concerned about the team dynamics and the experiences of women within it.
Court documents reveal that following their discussion, Weinstein, who is now President of Europe, Middle East and Africa, appeared significantly perturbed by Woodall’s claims. She subsequently messaged a member of the HR department, stating: "Just met Vicki [Woodall]. Holy moly. Want to get you for 10 mins today."
In November 2023, as Google prepared for a broader organisational restructuring and a subsequent redundancy process, Woodall claims there was a final concerted effort to remove her from the agency team. In messages exchanged between Weinstein and Dyana Najdi, Google’s Managing Director for UK and Ireland Advertising, submitted as evidence to the court, Weinstein allegedly wrote: "keep pushing…for solution on how you can run a process including agency [Woodall’s team]… gotta use this as a chance to exit people."
In March 2024, Woodall was made redundant, a fate shared by the second senior manager involved in the misconduct investigation. However, her claim states that she remains employed by the company, currently receiving long-term sickness payments for work-related stress. Google disputes that Woodall’s redundancy was a consequence of her whistleblowing. The company maintains that her role was one of 26 positions eliminated across the team and wider department as part of a necessary restructuring, as outlined in its defence. Google further contests that Weinstein attempted to orchestrate Woodall’s redundancy, asserting that Weinstein was highly supportive of Woodall and was instrumental in initiating the investigation into the culture of the agency team. While the company acknowledges that Woodall’s report regarding the manager accused of misconduct constituted an act of whistleblowing, it firmly denies any retaliatory actions against her, characterising the subsequent events as entirely normal business decisions.
George Anjay
Nana Banana