Woman's employee harassment claim against boss's 'mansplaining' backfires

A UK woman's employee harassment claim has backfired after her former employers detailed her misconduct before a tribunal.

Zhihui Lu was fired from her trainee accountant role at KPMG for gross misconduct in November 2018, after accusing her boss of 'mansplaining' her corporate clothing choices, The Telegraph reports.

Taking the global firm to an employment tribunal in London, Lu said her manager Matt Brunton had asked her to wear smarter clothes when she appeared in the office in jeans and a jumper.

In an email, Brunton wrote: "I noted you were in the office this afternoon in casual clothing. This is not appropriate attire for the office during working hours. Please ensure you are in the office in appropriate work attire going forward".

Lu then launched into a "loud and aggressive tirade", a tribunal heard, asking Brunton 'who he was as a man' to be telling her "what she can and cannot wear".

The trainee account, who had been working at KPMG for three years, also asked Brunton whether he thought her bra was appropriate and revealed the strap to him.

Brunton presented his case against Lu before an employment tribunal, revealing a number of incidents that led to her firing from the global accounting firm.

Lu claimed she faced discrimination based on her race and disability, saying she was consistently accused of being aggressive and rude in the workplace.

The tribunal heard that after hearing the news she hadn't received a promotion, Lu claimed to a manager that she would have done better if she had slept with one of the male partners.

Lu was also accused of degrading her colleagues' looks, labelling a senior member of the firm as "the bald partner" and telling another person they "looked terrible" at work.

According to the tribunal, she also ignored requests to stop taking too much food from the staff's provided lunch and using containers to stock up more.

She also installed a rice cooker and refused to sit with her team, five floors below her assigned office space.

The complaints about Lu's behaviour and performance in her former role spanned over two years.

The tribunal denied Lu's claims for unfair dismissal and discrimination, siding with KPMG.