PwC sued, London employee felt like 'prostitute'

A former PricewaterhouseCoopers London accountant claims she was made to feel "like a prostitute" at work and is suing the city firm for £40 million (NZ$94.6 million) in a record race discrimination claim reports London Evening Standard.

The online newspaper says Romanian Mihaela Popa (31) claims she suffered a string of racist and sexual jibes, and was bullied at accountancy giant PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Popa says that a colleague told her "Eastern Europeans are whores" and she was referred to at work as "Mihaela and porn" says Daily Mail.

The online site also reports Popa was accused of only being in London to "live it up," given menial tasks to perform and ignored for promotion.

The Evening Standard adds that when Popa asked one manager why she was given mundane work, he allegedly said that "someone was needed to mop up the s**t".

Popa, earned £41,000 a year as a forensic accountant at PwC.

She claims that the discrimination prevented her becoming a PwC partner earning at least £500,000 a year plus bonuses.

She is demanding compensation for loss of earnings and hurt feelings.

PwC strenuously denies her allegations and is vigorously defending her tribunal action.

Popa lost a previous employment tribunal claim for race discrimination against PwC but claims to have more detailed evidence for this claim at Central London employment tribunal.

- NZ HERALD STAFF