Microsoft UK and axed exec in legal smackdown

Microsoft's former UK enterprise partner director and board member Simon Negus is suing the software giant for wrongful dismissal months after it slapped a writ on him to repay part of a bonus and holiday money.

He left the firm last September amid allegations of inappropriate behaviour and was the subject of a lawsuit filed by the firm in April when it tried to recoup £75,000 of the £225,000 signing-on fee it paid when Negus joined from Dell in 2008 on the condition that he stay for three years.

Negus denied allegedly planting a smacker on a workmate at WPC in Atlanta in 2009 in full view of attendees, but when additional information came to light he was dismissed, Microsoft said in its claim, quoted in a report by Bloomberg.

An internal investigation by Microsoft found he had "behaved dishonestly, and thereby acted in a manner calculated or likely to destroy trust and confidence between him and Microsoft," the court filing states.

The case brought by Negus, now COO at Upstream Systems, was filed on 3 August for wrongful dismissal, breach of trust and harassment.

Negus declined to comment and Microsoft had no-one available for comment at the time of going to press. ®