A former Financial Conduct Authority employee has pledged to continue his legal battle after losing a fair trial appeal at an employment tribunal.
Jasthi Alom challenged a 2024 tribunal ruling that upheld his dismissal for gross misconduct, arguing the case was compromised because the judge took nine months to deliver judgment.
However, on Tuesday (30 September), Employment Appeal Judge Simon Auerbach rejected Alom’s claim, finding that while the delay was “unacceptably long”, it did not render the process unfair.
He said Judge Stephen Shore’s 63-page decision was “meticulous, thorough, and closely reasoned”. Judge Shore had accepted responsibility for the delay, citing serious personal matters.
Alom, who worked at the FCA between 2015 and 2021, was dismissed for sending an external email following stalking and harassment allegations made by a female colleague.
He was accused of breaching FCA policy by emailing the woman’s manager, leading to a gross misconduct finding.
He further argued the regulator had infringed his right to privacy by searching his work computer. Judge Auerbach dismissed this claim, saying the search did not influence the FCA’s decision to dismiss him.
Despite the ruling, Alom vowed to fight on. His representative, John Robertson, told Money Marketing: “Mr Alom is disappointed that the Employment Appeal Tribunal has dismissed his case. The judgment failed to grapple with serious procedural failings, particularly the FCA’s reliance on covert monitoring and surveillance measures that raise clear Article 8 human rights concerns, as well as its failure to furnish crucial evidence.
“This matter is far from over. Mr Alom will now seek permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal, where we expect the role of Article 8 human rights, the boundaries of workplace surveillance, and the overall fairness of the disciplinary process to be properly scrutinised.
“These issues go beyond one individual. They concern whether the FCA, entrusted with regulating honesty, integrity, and fairness in financial markets, is itself living up to those same standards in how it treats its staff, consumers, and regulated firms and individuals.”
Separately, Alom and the FCA are awaiting a High Court decision on permission for a judicial review into his Article 8 ECHR complaint over workplace monitoring and surveillance.
