A senior Google manager in the UK told clients he was a swinger and shared an explicit image of his wife, leading to a whistleblower losing her job, an employment tribunal has been told.
Whistleblower's Allegations of a 'Boys' Club' Culture
Victoria Woodall, a senior industry head in Google's sales and agencies team, raised the alarm over the behaviour of senior staff at the tech giant's UK headquarters in King's Cross, London. She reported concerns about a 'boys' club' culture and says she faced a 'relentless campaign of retaliation' before being made redundant.
The tribunal heard that in August 2022, a female client contacted Ms Woodall. The client alleged that a manager on the team had bragged during a business lunch about how many black women he had slept with. According to summary notes from Google's internal investigation, the same Google executive also described how 'he and his wife were swingers'.
Ms Woodall reported these concerns to her chief, Matt Bush, then managing director of the agency team, prompting an internal probe. A second complaint followed from another female client, who accused the same official of showing her a photo 'of his wife's vagina' on his phone.
Google's Investigation and Disciplinary Actions
Google's inquiry, which interviewed 12 people, found the manager had sexually harassed two female colleagues. The incidents, which occurred during a work event, involved him touching one colleague's leg without consent and rubbing another's back and shoulders.
He was also found to have made inappropriate remarks, including telling a worker he was in an open marriage and suggesting that if she had sex with him, his wife would 'enjoy hearing about it'. The manager denied the allegations during the investigation.
As a result, the manager was sacked for gross misconduct. His line manager and another senior colleague were ordered to undertake 'documented coaching' for failing to intervene. Both were later made redundant.
Allegations of Retaliation and a Men's-Only Event
Ms Woodall told the tribunal she was subsequently demoted to a subordinate role on a large internal project, supporting the very senior manager she had reported. She said she was given 'little choice' but to exchange a successful client account for a failing one, which she described as a 'poisoned chalice'.
The tribunal also heard that Google funded a men's-only 'chairman's lunch' until December 2022, amid the allegations of a 'boys' club' culture. The company stated these events were discontinued as they were no longer in line with Google policies, but denied such an atmosphere existed.
Ms Woodall was made redundant in March 2024 as part of a wider process started by Google in 2023, which saw 26 people let go from her team. She remains a Google employee, currently receiving long-term sickness payments for work-related stress.
Google denies retaliating against Ms Woodall for whistleblowing, stating her redundancy was due to the department's closure. The company accepts her report amounted to a protected disclosure but rejects all claims of retaliation, describing her tribunal claim as 'without merit'. Judges at the London Central Employment Tribunal are expected to rule in the coming months.
