Woman unfairly dismissed - hospital pays tons
17 February 2024
Illustrative photo
A 47-year-old employee of the Reinier de Graaf hospital in Delft was fired in early 2023 to her great surprise after 27 years of service. The woman, working as a sustainable business manager, was told that her plans for making the hospital more sustainable were insufficient. In addition, the hospital felt she spent too much time on external networks and that cooperation with managers could be better.
No file, no improvement process either
The employee disagreed with the dismissal and went to court. She pointed out that she had never had a bad evaluation before and that the hospital had not started an improvement process with her. According to the Work and Social Security Act (WWZ), a well-substantiated file and a serious improvement plan are mandatory in case of dismissal for dysfunction, especially in the case of such a long employment.
Judge indicates: seriously culpable actions by hospital
The judge ruled that the hospital had acted seriously culpable. The dismissal came “out of the blue” and without the woman having been previously addressed about her performance. The hospital had also made no attempts to restore the employment relationship. As a result of this conduct, the employment relationship had become irreparably disturbed.
High severance pay awarded
The hospital had to pay over €60,000 in transitional compensation, €115,000 in additional compensation for income loss and over €41,000 for legal fees. It also had to continue paying salary until April 2024, bringing the total to around €215,000. The court rejected the request for positive references as there is no legal basis for it.
Conclusion
The Reinier de Graaf hospital made an expensive mistake by dismissing an employee without a file and improvement plan. The court protected the employee and awarded high compensation for serious culpability by the hospital.