A houseworker retirement party in the Hietzing clinic in the middle of the corona pandemic led to the immediate dismissal of almost everyone involved. That now has legal consequences. A lawyer filed a lawsuit against the city of Vienna as the employer on behalf of the person concerned. According to him, no reason for dismissal was set, the employer had “missed the target a bit”. The health association referred to “multiple breaches of duty”.
Masks, keeping your distance, regular testing and visiting restrictions – strict rules apply in Vienna’s hospitals due to Corona. This is also the case at the Hietzing Clinic. However, at the end of February 17 house workers or department assistants did not take these rules very seriously. The get-together came to light because pictures were posted on social media. An anonymous e-mail finally drew the hospital’s attention to the celebration.
Lawyer Thomas Mödlagl describes what happened from the point of view of those affected whom he represents: One of the women had organized a small celebration in a remote room away from everyday hospital life due to her retirement. For this she set up a small buffet and invited her colleagues to come over from lunchtime. Drinks were also made available – non-alcoholic for the colleagues on duty and champagne for the hostess, as she was no longer on duty. A gift basket was also presented. In addition to specialties, this also contained alcohol, which, according to the lawyer, had not been touched.
“Those servants who worked that day went into this room during their lunch break and consumed their colleague’s meal there, toasted with Coke and Fanta and took farewell pictures. They took off the mask for the pictures. None of them According to their own statements, Damen stayed longer than 30 minutes. They didn’t come at the same time, except for a group photo. Some have just left, others have come. ” According to the lawyer, the women were regularly tested, some had already received the first corona vaccination at the time.
The employer of the City of Vienna – represented by MA 2 (personnel matters), which became active at the request of the health association – reacted after the celebration became known. The women affected, some of whom had worked there for 20 years or even longer, were given the choice of either agreeing to an amicable termination of their employment relationship with waiver of severance payments or being dismissed without notice. The measures were taken with reference to Paragraph 45 (2), Number 2 of the Contract Staff Ordinance – serious breach of official duties -. Two women decided to dissolve by mutual agreement. Another is a staff representative who has not yet been dismissed.
In the opinion of the lawyer, the employer “overshot the mark a little with the layoffs, if I allow the ladies to have lunch – and that is only possible without a mask. They usually do that in their lounge. It is allowed, but if in one is eaten in another room, it is a serious breach of official duties ”.
“Strictly Prohibited”
Naturally, the hospital operator health association, to which the Hietzing Clinic belongs, assesses the situation differently. “All employees in the clinics and care facilities of the Vienna Health Association have a great responsibility for the patients we care for and the residents we care for. In the current pandemic, protecting the people entrusted to us is of particular importance. 30,000 employees and employees live up to this responsibility day after day – and for over a year now under particularly difficult conditions. In light of this, we cannot tolerate such irresponsible behavior under any circumstances, “said a written statement.
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, meetings such as the farewell to the retired colleague are “of course strictly prohibited” for reasons of infection protection. In addition, the celebration took place during working hours, alcohol was apparently consumed because alcoholic beverages can be seen in photos and the mandatory Covid-19 protection rules (compliance with the minimum distance, mask requirement) were not observed. Finally, photos of the celebration were published on social media profiles, contrary to the organization’s internal rules.
In view of the “multiple violations of duty”, the collegial leadership should have initiated the appropriate legal consequences. In the immediately scheduled personal conversations, only two people showed understanding. These two people agreed to an amicable termination of the employment relationship, 14 other people were dismissed.
Precedent
The lawsuit on behalf of the dismissed women was filed with the Labor and Social Court in mid-March. It stated how long the plaintiffs had been employed by the City of Vienna, that they had not given any reason for dismissal and that the dismissals were unlawful. The first negotiation dates have already been advertised. According to attorney Mödlagl, as far as he was able to determine, this is a precedent for Covid-19: “In the past, however, it has often happened that several employees were dismissed in the event of gross breaches of duty . “
–
