1: ‘I’m resigning’ doesn’t count
“I’m handing in my resignation!”, a frustrated team leader in the baggage department at Schiphol sent an impulse email to his manager after he had been passed over for a promotion. The man later retracted his words, but his employer still forced him to leave.
However, the subdistrict court in Haarlem did not give the green light for this. The judge initially found the email crystal clear, but given the context it should not count as a ‘real’ submission of dismissal.
2: ‘Roast’ off the rails
A speech at a company party that was intended to be funny but went completely wrong cost a carpenter from Sliedrecht his job after an unblemished employment of 28 years.
In the speech, the employee expressed blunt criticism of pointless expenditure and poor communication from the company. He called one of the directors ‘loyal as a bitch in heat’. Afterwards the man expressed regret and said he had meant his speech as ‘roast’. In vain.
3: Mixing ashes after cremation
Funeral director DELA was allowed to dismiss an employee who was involved in accidentally mixing the ashes of two cremated bodies.
Remarkably, the painful incident itself did not lead to dismissal. The woman was initially only reprimanded, but resisted it. The parties then found themselves on a collision course and the employment relationship became so disrupted that the judge saw no other way out than forcing the woman to leave.
4: Doctor’s visit after fall: discharge
A Limburg company wrongly dismissed a paving contractor because he went to the doctor after a fall and then no longer showed up for work.
According to the employer, there was a refusal to work and the man did not have to return. According to the judge, the employee had called in sick and should not have been dismissed. The paving contractor did not get his job back, but he did receive a severance payment of more than 15,000 euros.
5. Secretly three jobs
An employee who secretly worked full-time for three housing associations at the same time was not rewarded for his work ethic. On the contrary: the man lost all three of his jobs. To make matters worse, he had to repay two of the three employers together around 90,000 euros in wrongly paid salaries.
6. Dismissal after visiting Efteling
Fifteen students from a special education school in Amsterdam were supposed to go on a school trip to the Space Expo in Noordwijk this spring, but their teacher secretly took them to the Efteling. The school and parents knew nothing. According to the judge, the dismissal was justified; the teacher disagreed and announced an appeal.
7: Catching a bone after walking the dog
An employee of a technical wholesaler was blunted no less than twice this year. After his divorce, the man found it difficult to walk his dog. His employer solved this by giving him 108 euros per month for a walking service. However, after a few months, the man let his ex or his children walk his dog, while continuing to collect the compensation.
When this was discovered, the man himself was let out. By his employer. His protest against the dismissal was rejected; first by the subdistrict court judge, then on appeal by the court of appeal.
8. Old bicycle saddle
Every year, RTL Z describes remarkable cases in which a relatively minor offense has far-reaching employment law consequences. This year too, a number of such ‘basic matters’ were discussed. For example, an official from the municipality of Zuidplas lost his job after replacing his broken bicycle saddle with a copy of a bicycle in a junk shed, despite an otherwise impeccable employment contract of more than 12 years.
9. There is no such thing as a ‘free lunch’
A department manager at the Jumbo supermarket probably regrets that she regularly ate a sandwich from the store without paying for it. As a result, she lost her job – after 42 years of employment. She was also able to receive the severance payment of 168,000 euros she demanded.
Instead, she had to pay Jumbo almost ten thousand euros in damages. For example, she was responsible for the invoice for the hired corporate detective and the estimated costs of the sandwiches and toppings she ate.
10. Unhealthy treatment of the sick
Last year there was an above-average number of cases in which employers were reprimanded for the unhealthy treatment of sick employees.
For example, because of putting pressure on a fallen baker and an overwrought secretary. Or wrongly having a sick employee followed and dismissed who was ‘dancing and jumping’ at a festival.
In all cases, this culpable act carried a hefty price tag for the employer. The largest account was for ING, which was therefore chosen for this top 10. Neglecting a sick business advisor for years cost the bank no less than three quarters of a million euros.
2024-01-01 12:11:59
#bizarre #dismissal #cases
