Private equity firm Hg is facing a £10m equal pay lawsuit brought by a former senior employee, in a rare public employment dispute involving one of Europe’s largest technology-focused buyout firms, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Elizabeth Wallace, Hg’s former head of portfolio talent, has filed a claim with the London employment tribunal alleging she was paid less than male colleagues performing comparable roles and unfairly deprived of carried interest following her dismissal in 2022.
According to court filings, Wallace claims she forfeited up to £700,000 in carried interest under an Hg policy that designates employees as “bad leavers” if they initiate legal action against the firm. She argues the policy discourages staff – particularly women – from pursuing workplace claims.
Wallace said she could have retained her carried interest by remaining a “good leaver” following her redundancy, but chose to proceed with legal action because she believed her treatment at the firm was discriminatory.
Hg said it strongly disputes the allegations, adding that the claims do not reflect the facts and that the firm is confident it has acted appropriately.
“We robustly dispute the claims brought against Hg by a former employee and have fully defended our position, our actions, and, most importantly, our values and integrity as a firm,” a spokesperson said.
Wallace joined Hg in 2019 and was made redundant in March 2022 after three years at the firm. She argues that her responsibilities – which included advising portfolio companies following acquisitions – were comparable to those of two male directors within the portfolio team, who she claims received higher salaries and larger carried interest allocations.
Hg’s legal representatives counter that the roles were not comparable, stating the male directors led different teams with distinct responsibilities. The firm said the redundancy formed part of a broader restructuring, with Hg seeking to replace the role with a more generalist human resources position.
As part of the case, Wallace has also raised concerns regarding governance and conflicts of interest linked to Visma, Hg’s largest portfolio company.
She alleges that a conflict arose due to an undisclosed personal relationship between a senior Hg partner and Visma’s then-chief executive, which she claims coincided with discussions around leadership succession at the software group.
Hg has rejected the allegations, stating that the relationship was not romantic at the time succession decisions were being made and describing Wallace’s wider claims as “baseless”. The firm said it adhered to appropriate governance standards throughout.
Visma, a Norway-based business software provider, was last valued at €19bn in 2023 and is widely expected to pursue a London IPO later this year – potentially one of the UK market’s largest listings in recent years. Hg owns approximately 70% of the company, according to its website.
Rare public dispute
The case is currently under consideration by employment tribunal judges in London.
