A FORMER company secretary of the Oppenheimer Partners Africa Advisors (OPAA) has lodged a court application in the Equality Court against Jonathan Oppenheimer’s company, and its partners for a “brutal dismissal turned retrenchment to cover up sexual harassment, victimisation, bullying, and racism.”
In a court application lodged on Thursday in Johannesburg and seen by the Falcons, Janine Haribhai who was the executive assistant to Oppenheimer and the company partners from the period December 1, 2016 to June 8, 2020, claimed to have suffered various forms of abuse at the hands of her seniors which led to her dismissal from her duties after she had written a complaint.
Giving an account of the matter, Haribhai stated that the company director, Jacob Hinson sexually harassed her to the point where she felt scared to go to work.
“When I was at work, I used to hide under the reception desk at times when he arrived at the office, including asking one staff member to come to the office, when I was to work on weekends at the office. Jacob threatened me, stating that if I ever complained in writing, he will end me.
“During this matter, he made defamatory remarks towards me via his attorney which is unacceptable. He dismissed me, stating that I had warnings but never had any warnings. Jacob also confirmed over the phone that I have never had warnings. This call was recorded,” she said.
Haribhai further stated that other company directors and partners did not spare her from various forms of abuses which could not be reported to the Human Resources office because the company didn’t have someone designated to handle HR-related matters.
In her statement, she stated that another woman director whom she identified in court documents, frequently shouted at her in the presence of other team members during team lunches over her dietary requirements that kept changing, despite Haribhai accommodating her at every request.
“This was not the only incident, she shouted at me as she wanted to visit Constitutional Hill as an event getaway, and on another occasion, she swore vulgar at me, stating that her job is more important than my job as a junior. Despite complaining to Jacob, nothing was done to prevent this from happening,” she said.
Haribhai also recorded that the head of Finance and Operations at Oppenheimer Partners would constantly look at her from head to toe and at her private parts, which made her feel uncomfortable.
“This started quite early on. He would shout and become impatient with me. I raised this with Jacob, but nothing was done to eliminate this behaviour,” Haribhai said.
She also alleged that the company’s Investment Professional was in the year 2020, part of a team that ran a survey that the employees had to answer anonymously, and she disagreed with the survey, as she felt there was no transformation within the organisation.
“She called me and violently shouted at me over the phone, asking why I had answered in the manner that I did. I told her that she has not walked in my shoes to tell me how to answer. Modise further stated that I am ungrateful and not loyal to Jacob, but later on called and apologised.
“This call was recorded. In this call, she states that I am the only one who has confronted Jacob who has been problematic. She also states that I am honest and hard working. After this incident with Modise, it led to my dismissal after putting a complaint in writing,” read Haribhai’s court statement.
The Falcons contacted Oppenheimer who responded via a statement from Oppenheimer Partners (0P) and confirmed that Haribhai was dismissed from employment in June 2020, but only after her departure, allegations of misconduct in the workplace were made by Haribhai.
“OP took this matter very seriously and conducted a thorough investigation into the allegations, however, they were found to be entirely without merit. A comprehensive process was conducted in which the complainant was represented by legal counsel at all times. An agreement was reached with the complainant in November 2020 and all allegations against OP were withdrawn.
“It is, therefore, disappointing that the complainant has chosen to raise these false claims again, more than three years later, when it is known that there is no factual or legal basis for them. The lodging of the court papers follows attempts to extort money from OP,” read Oppenheimer Partners’ statement.
In the documents seen by the Falcons, Haribhai stated that after she had sought the intervention of the Labour Court in 2020, Oppenheimer Partners asked for the matter to be settled out of court where she was paid more than R1.4 million, including a donation of R450 000 from Hinson, which was subject to taxation.
In her fresh court application, among other relief she seeks, Haribhai wants the court to assess and quantify damages, including loss of income, employment, loss of shares, loss of annual bonuses, past present, and future.