A UK-based accountant has been ordered to pay nearly £80,000 (around ₹1 crore) after sending an email calling his former boss’s wife a “stupid lying c***”.
According to a report by The Independent, Edward Franklin was ordered to pay £73,600 (around ₹93 lakh) in costs and a £5,000 (around ₹6.3 lakh) penalty by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) for the “childish, petulant, unprofessional and rude” remarks.
The dispute stemmed from Franklin’s departure from a company, referred to as H in the tribunal’s ruling. His employment was terminated in April 2022, and the company had ceased trading two months earlier after it no longer met compliance requirements.
The circumstances surrounding its closure and Franklin’s departure triggered a “significant and acrimonious” dispute involving his former boss and the latter’s ex-business partner. Around the time H ceased trading, Franklin had also established his own accountancy firm, and many of H’s clients were transferred over to the new company.
In June 2022, one of the clients accidentally sent a payment to H instead of Franklin’s new firm, sparking an argument that led to a series of offensive emails from the accountant. In emails sent to several people, Franklin referred to his former boss as “a slippery dishonest c***”, while also calling him “stupid” and “pathetic”.
{{/usCountry}}In June 2022, one of the clients accidentally sent a payment to H instead of Franklin’s new firm, sparking an argument that led to a series of offensive emails from the accountant. In emails sent to several people, Franklin referred to his former boss as “a slippery dishonest c***”, while also calling him “stupid” and “pathetic”.
{{/usCountry}}In an email dated August 14, 2022, he wrote, “I know what a loser you are … you are like some loser twenty something at the back of the Formula 4 grid,” as per The Independent.
The following month, Franklin reportedly sent another email to his former boss, copying in two other people. In it, he wrote, “You are a lying c**. And your wife is a stupid lying c**.”
He also made allegations about his former boss’s wife, claiming she had advanced in her career because she had slept with her now-husband while she was a trainee, adding that she “clearly wasn’t going to make it as [a] lawyer”. Franklin further challenged his former boss to complain about his conduct to the ICAEW, writing, “Go ahead, make your little complaint.”
Employee admits email was ‘completely unacceptable’
Franklin later acknowledged the seriousness of his remarks, describing the email as the “worst thing [he] had ever written”. He also called it “completely unacceptable, offensive, hurtful and vindictive”.
The tribunal found that his “unprovoked attack” on his former boss’s wife was “unprofessional, unacceptable and likely to bring the profession into disrepute”. It added that Franklin’s conduct “fell significantly short of required standards of professionalism”.
The tribunal concluded that his emails amounted to “obscene and grossly offensive language” and imposed the starting penalty of £5,000. With the additional costs order of £73,600, the total amount Franklin was directed to pay came to £78,600, equivalent to approximately ₹1 crore.