GlaxoSmithKline Axes Exec Who Filed South African Race Complaint
December 1, 2014
By Riley McDermid, BioSpace.com Breaking News Editor
GlaxoSmithKline has fired a top African executive after he alleged that his health care division was a “white island” and regularly kept black staff from being appointed to senior management positions, Bloomberg reported Friday.
The news service quoted a confidential 17-page report that the unnamed executive submitted on Aug. 28 to Glaxo’s compliance department, a process which is supposed to maintain company integrity. The healthcare unit is the most profitable Glaxo property in Africa, said Bloomberg.
However, a week after submitting the whistle-blowing complaint, the executive was summoned to Glaxo’s three-month “Performance Improvement Plan,” despite having received a top review and large bonus only months earlier. After refusing to participate, the company charged him gross insubordination. When he decided not to attend a Sept. 17 meeting with managers, Glaxo’s charged him with further insubordination, and hired an external labor consultant who eventually recommended his dismissal.
The British drugmaker said in a statement that the executive’s removal was unrelated to his discrimination complaint.
“As soon as we became aware of these allegations we immediately began an internal investigation process which includes the use of external legal consultants. The investigation is ongoing and if areas for improvement are identified we will act on the recommendations,” the company said in a statement.
The company then said in a separate email that the firm was not aware of the complaint during the executive’s termination process. “The manager responsible for his dismissal was not made aware of the allegations at any point throughout the performance process,” Glaxo said.
However, the timing is being closely scrutinized by the South African media, because the executive was subjected to disciplinary measures only a week after reporting his concerns. South Africa is 80 percent black and has a legacy of apartheid that lingers today, with most executives in large companies still primarily white.
Glaxo established its confidential “Speak Up” hotline as a way for its workers to report “misconduct, violations of country laws and regulations,” says the firm’s website. “GSK has procedures to protect and safeguard employees from harassment or reprisal when they report concerns in good faith, are genuine concerns of misconduct, and are not falsely raised,” the company said on its site.
The company said in response to news reports about the possible retaliatory firing that it would re-investigate the circumstances of the executive’s dismissal and make structural changes if needed.
“As soon as we became aware of these allegations we immediately began an internal investigation process which includes the use of external legal consultants,” it said in a statement. “The investigation is ongoing and if areas for improvement are identified we will act on the recommendations.”