How Christmas party cost senior EY partner Leonard Nicita his $850K job
A senior partner at EY lost his $850K job after making inappropriate advances towards a female colleague at a Christmas party and getting into an altercation at a Sydney bar, leading to his termination from the firm.
Leonard Nicita, a senior partner in the Transaction Tax team, was fired in November 2023 following these incidents, as stated in a decision by Justice David Mossop in the ACT Supreme Court.
The first incident occurred at a Christmas party in 2022, where Nicita made unwelcome comments to a female partner, leading her to file a complaint with management.
Despite Nicita’s denial and claim of innocence, his behavior was deemed unacceptable by the firm, resulting in a deduction of 4% of his income and a warning against further inappropriate actions.
In August 2023, Nicita was involved in another incident at a bar, where he got into a physical altercation with the staff, resulting in a charge of common assault.
Despite Nicita’s arguments that the bar incident was unrelated to his role at the firm and his impending retirement from the partnership, his termination was upheld by the managing partner for “Just Cause.”
Legal action taken by Nicita against the decision was dismissed by Justice Mossop, who ruled in favor of EY and ordered Nicita to pay the firm’s legal costs.
