Ex-Bovis chief to take firm to High Court

Andrew Silverbeck, the former global chief financial officer of Bovis Lend Lease, is understood to be taking the contractor to the High Court over an unpaid £89,000 bonus.

Silverbeck is believed to have instructed his lawyers to write to Bovis after losing an employment tribunal for the sum on Monday.

It emerged at the tribunal that Silverbeck alleged he was owed the money for the three years to 30 June 2006. However, Christopher Carstairs, the tribunal chairman, ruled that Silverbeck had failed to submit his claim in time, saying it should have been within six months of when the payment was due last August.

Silverbeck filed his claim in late March, three weeks past the deadline. The High Court is less strict, and allows several years.

The money was an ex gratia payment, awarded as part of Bovis’ long-term incentive plan. It was awarded despite several targets not being met.

Silverbeck resigned from the company in July and left at the end of September. He said in his witness statement that Bob Johnston, Bovis’ global chief executive at the time, had told him he did not think the departure would affect his bonuses.

However, Bovis’ HR department and an organisation committee later decided it would not award the payments to staff who had resigned after 30 June.

Graham Roy, Bovis’ global head of human relations, told the tribunal that he had received an email to that effect on 14 August, which meant Silverbeck and

three others were struck off the bonus payment list just over a fortnight before the payments were due.

Johnston, Silverbeck’s line manager, informed him of the decision. In an email dated 29 August, Johnston told colleagues: “As you might expect, Andrew Silverbeck was very upset about the news I delivered to him.”

A spokesperson for Bovis said: “We don’t comment on personal confidential matters such as these.” Silverbeck declined to comment on either the tribunal or any High Court action.