LONDON, April 22 — A Citigroup Inc foreign-exchange trader who was suspended while on maternity leave won her employment suit against the bank, after a London court found the firm acted unfairly when firing her.

Carly McWilliams, who worked on the spot-trading desk for 14 years, said she was “delighted” when contacted today after winning her case for wrongful and unfair dismissal.

Although the court found that the bank failed to follow proper procedures before her firing, the judge decided she had contributed to her dismissal, according to a person familiar with the judgment. The finding will likely limit her financial award.

McWilliams is one of several traders to sue banks after they were fired amid the FX-manipulation scandal. Her verdict is similar to three other employment lawsuits brought by traders where, though they’ve won on technicalities, judges have refused to award substantial damages.

“Citi stands by its decision to dismiss Ms McWilliams,” a bank spokesman said. “While we are disappointed by the Employment Tribunal’s decision, individual accountability is important to us and for that reason we defended the case in the Tribunal. We expect our employees to adhere to the highest ethical standards and will not tolerate breaches of our code of conduct.”

Perry Stimpson, a former Citigroup colleague of McWilliams, won his case and was awarded £58,774 (RM330,400) in January, less than half his annual salary. — Bloomberg