Gelderland District Court, 14 March 2025, ECLI:NL:RBGEL:2025:1994
On leaving, an employee left farewell gifts with inappropriate messages for her colleagues, after which the employer summarily dismissed her. On 14 March 2025, Gelderland District Court ruled that the summary dismissal was not valid, since the employee’s conduct did not constitute an urgent cause and could not be regarded as seriously culpable conduct either.
Facts
The employee started working for the employer on 28 May 2019 as a Carer IG1, and eventually, as of 1 March 2023, as a nurse. As of 1 October 2024, the employee moved within the same company to a different department, located at a different site. After her last shift on the department where she had worked during her employment, the employee left gifts with inappropriate messages for her colleagues. The gifts she left contained various provocative messages, including statements expressing criticism or disapproval towards colleagues, as well as remarks with an inappropriate tone and containing swear words.
The employee was summarily dismissed following these farewell gifts. As the reason for the summary dismissal, the employer stated that the employee’s conduct and the gifts left behind conflicted with the company’s code of conduct. The gifts left behind were also said to be offensive, insulting, hurtful, and disrespectful towards other colleagues. The employee subsequently filed a petition with Gelderland District Court, requesting, among other things, fair compensation, compensation for irregular termination, and a transition payment.
Ruling
Gelderland District Court ruled that the summary dismissal was not validly given. The court held that the employee’s conduct, although embarrassing and inappropriate, was not so serious that summary dismissal was justified. The employee’s conduct did not constitute an urgent cause and could not be regarded as seriously culpable conduct. The employer could have chosen a different measure, such as a suspension combined with a request to dissolve the employment contract.
As a result, the employer was ordered to pay fair compensation of EUR 4,063.00 gross, compensation for irregular termination of EUR 11,944.02 gross, and a transition payment of EUR 7,245.00. The employer was also ordered to pay the legal costs. Gelderland District Court ruled that the wrongful summary dismissal qualified as seriously culpable conduct on the employer’s part.
Conclusion
This ruling underlines the high threshold the law sets for a valid summary dismissal. It emphasises the principle that summary dismissal is only justified where there is an urgent cause justifying immediate termination of the employment contract. The ruling confirms that employers must carefully weigh, before taking such a far-reaching measure, whether other, less drastic measures would be more appropriate.
Do you have questions about summary dismissal? Please feel free to contact one of our employment lawyers.
Click here for the full ruling (in Dutch).
