Analyst 'paid less than man she trained'

Ms Barton was a top-rated analyst in the City

A City of London analyst who was rated the best in her field was paid less than a man she hired and trained, a tribunal heard.

Louise Barton, 57, left fund managers Investec Henderson Crosthwaite after she discovered two men on her team were earning more than her six-figure salary, she claimed.

The media analyst, who worked in the City for 23 years, is claiming sex discrimination and unequal pay at an employment tribunal.

Australian-born Ms Barton, of Fulham, west London, claimed Mathew Horsman and Mike Savage earned bonuses up to three times the size of hers.

Having invested in Mathew...I expected to receive some compensation

Louise Barton

This was despite the fact she was bringing in as much or more revenue for the firm, where she had worked for 11 years and she had head-hunted him in 1997.

In 2001 Ms Barton was ranked number one in her field in the Reuters smaller companies' survey, scoring a satisfaction rate of 74.6%, compared with 52.1% for Mr Savage and 47.3% for Mr Horsman.

Mr Horsman was taken on as a trainee investment analyst in July 1997 to relieve her workload.

Ms Barton said she agreed to share her bonus pool with him, although he "did not generate any significant revenue for almost three years".

£1m bonus

In June 2000, Mike Savage joined the team as a specialist salesman and, just before Christmas, he was appointed head of the media team, the position Ms Barton had been in, in an acting role.

"I was extremely shocked by this appointment. I was...more experienced and there had been no criticisms of my running of the team," she said.

She sent Mr Crosthwaite a formal letter of complaint in February 2001, claiming sex discrimination and had a meeting with him and Alan Tapnack, a director of the firm.

'More favourable'

Ms Barton said Mr Tapnack apologised to her and said the team would go back to being run jointly, and their salaries matched

"Having invested in Mathew in earlier years, I expected to receive some compensation in later years when Mathew began to generate revenue," Ms Barton said.

"It was evident in all categories of remuneration that my male colleagues were treated more favourably."

The tribunal continues.