Victoria Woodall, a former senior executive in Google’s UK sales and agencies team, claims she was penalised for blowing the whistle on a manager whose behaviour towards women was later found to amount to sexual harassment. The manager was ultimately dismissed, but Woodall says she was sidelined and later selected for redundancy.
According to tribunal documents submitted to London Central Employment Tribunal and seen by the BBC, Woodall was first contacted in August 2022 by a female client who described a disturbing encounter during a business lunch. The client alleged that Woodall’s manager had made unsolicited comments about his sex life, including boasting about the number of black women he had slept with.
The client further claimed that the manager spoke openly about being a swinger with his wife and described sexual encounters with two women he said they met on a beach while on holiday. The conversation allegedly took place in front of the manager’s own line manager, who did not intervene.
After Woodall escalated the client’s concerns to her superior, Matt Bush, then managing director of the agency team, Google launched an internal investigation. While that investigation was ongoing, Woodall submitted a second complaint from another female client, who alleged the same manager showed her an explicit image of his wife while scrolling through photos on his phone.
Google’s internal review uncovered additional allegations, including findings that the manager had touched two female colleagues without their consent. Tribunal documents state that investigators concluded his conduct constituted sexual harassment.
The investigation also found that the manager had allegedly made inappropriate remarks to staff, including telling a female colleague that he was in an open marriage and suggesting his wife would enjoy hearing about a sexual encounter with her. The manager denied the allegations and said he did not recall making such statements.
He was dismissed for gross misconduct in 2023, along with a senior manager who failed to escalate reports of sexual harassment, according to the documents.
Woodall claims that following her reports, she was forced to exchange a successful client account for a failing one, a move she described as a “poisoned chalice” that left her exposed to redundancy. She also alleges she was demoted to a subordinate role on an internal project supporting a senior manager implicated in the investigation, and that her performance was subsequently undermined.
In 2024, Woodall was made redundant. She remains technically employed by Google while receiving long-term sickness payments for work-related stress, the tribunal heard.
Google denies that Woodall was selected for redundancy because of whistleblowing. In its defence, the company said her role was one of 26 positions eliminated as part of a wider restructuring exercise and rejected claims of retaliatory conduct. Google also disputes allegations that a senior manager sought to force Woodall out, saying the manager was supportive and initiated broader cultural reviews within the team.
A judgment in the case is expected in the coming weeks.
