Bhatia tells SDT he was 'fairy godmother' to pregnant employee

A former president of Nottinghamshire Law Society has told the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal he was a ‘fairy godmother’ to a pregnant employee who was found to be discriminated against by an employment tribunal.

Ashish Bhatia gave evidence on the second day of the SDT hearing into his alleged discrimination against the former employee in regard to her pregnancy and failure to notify the Solicitors Regulation Authority of an employment tribunal judgment.

Bhatia told the tribunal that he ‘disagreed quite a lot with the employment tribunal’ and its findings. He added: ‘I felt the tribunal made important and serious errors.’

Bhatia, admitted in 1985 and founder and managing director of East Midlands firm Bhatia Best, said: ‘I was [her] fairy godmother…we accommodated her on absolutely everything, I spoke to her like a daughter. Why would I suddenly discriminate against her and sack her?

‘We both know the SRA principles and both know discrimination is a very very bad thing. I have never discriminated against anyone in my whole life, not against anyone and not against [her].’

Bhatia told the tribunal he had not appealed the employment tribunal decision and had reached a settlement where he paid £50,000 compensation for injured feelings and £30,000 for the employee’s legal costs.

When asked why he had not reported the employment tribunal’s judgment to the SRA, he told the hearing he and his legal team were ‘awake’ to needing to do so once proceedings had finished. But, Bhatia told the hearing he believed the wording on the settlement agreement of ‘liability waiver for respondent’ meant the tribunal was ‘expunged’ and there was no need to tell the SRA as a result.

Bhatia said: ‘I did not think liability judgment was expunged because I paid £80,000. I thought it was expunged because of the header “liability waiver for respondent” and because of the context of everything that was happening and what everyone was telling me.’

Bhatia denies the SRA's allegations. The hearing continues.