Hotel Chef Attacks Waitress and Company Fails to Reintegrate: Woman Awarded €14,000 in Compensation

The incident followed several unwanted and cross-border actions towards the waitress by the chef of the estate and hotel Chateau Marquette. In May last year, the woman complained to a manager about the workload and long working days. In that conversation she also said that the chef ‘did not give her food during breaks’, can be read in the verdict.

Two days after that conversation, on May 13, 2022, the man attacked her. He grabbed her, pushed her against the wall, and grabbed her by the throat with both hands. The woman was very shocked by this: she was ‘very emotional and upset’.

Reintegration

The general manager took the matter so highly that he came to the hotel to talk to the woman about what had happened. The chef was subsequently suspended and he himself resigned a week later. That was not the end of the matter for the woman: she reported sick.

At first she still received support from the management of the hotel, but that changed when her reintegration did not go smoothly. She went back to work in mid-July, in the hotel bistro. A month later, after working ten days, she called in sick again.

The main reason it went wrong was that the woman, against her request, had to work with a colleague who had witnessed the chef’s attack. When the waitress called for help, she said that the colleague had not responded.

Because she had to work with him, she was constantly reminded of the incident. “He triggers my PTSD complaints enormously,” she emailed her manager on August 13. “I constantly feel unsafe and rushed.”

Mail: ‘Time to say goodbye’

For the management of the hotel, the woman’s package of requirements for reintegration was not realistic. The woman’s email was forwarded by the director of the umbrella company to a location manager, with the comment: “Time to say goodbye I think…”

“Yes, I think so too! (…) 31-10 her contract expires.” The woman received a letter on September 24 that her employment contract was terminated. Until the end of October, she was still paid, according to her contract of 16 euros gross per hour for at least 22.8 hours a week. Since then she has been on sick leave, with a supplement from the UWV of 257.63 euros net per week.

The woman, whose identity and age are not mentioned in the verdict, did not accept it. According to her, the hotel could have done more to prevent the incident and the company also failed to reintegrate. And that is why she wants substantial compensation, totaling about 30,000 euros.

Rumors about behavior

The judge agrees with her. There were already rumors about the behavior of the chef at his previous employers. And in April of 2022, another employee reported a complaint about (sexual) transgressive behaviour.

As a result, several conversations were held with the man, but his behavior was not really addressed in the eyes of the judge. And although the company reacted very sympathetically after the incident, little of that remained in the end.

Judge: ‘Little compassion’

On the contrary: the company reproached the victim that she should have filed a report against the chef. This happened after the man made another mistake with a new employer, which was subsequently reported by the victim.

If the waitress had done the same, she could have prevented worse, according to her old employer. “In the opinion of the subdistrict court judge, this comment shows little compassion,” said the judge.

He condemns the company to pay thousands of euros in severance and damages. This concerns a severance payment of approximately three months’ salary and compensation for the consumption of her own risk and because she cannot work for a year.

She will also receive compensation for immaterial damage. The whole course of events has ensured that the single mother of two children is sick at home and cannot work for the time being. As a result, she is entitled to compensation, according to the judge.

14.000 euro

In all, the judge ordered the company to pay almost 14,000 euros to the woman. It is not known whether this has already been transferred. There is no one available at the hotel who can respond to questions from RTL News.

The owner of the companies, which were recently declared bankrupt, also did not immediately respond to questions. No one could be reached at the victim’s law firm.