The Court of Appeal of The Hague recently ruled on whether an employee had to repay €155,000 in fair compensation and legal fees to her employer. What was the outcome?
The case
A recent ruling by the Court of Appeal of The Hague serves as a reminder to both employers and employees that legal proceedings concerning whether or not seriously culpable conduct has occurred, and whether fair compensation is owed, can take unexpected turns. In this case, the court completely overturned a previous decision by the subdistrict court that had awarded the employee a fair compensation, with far-reaching consequences for the employee in question.
The dispute involved a managerial employee against whom anonymous complaints were filed with the confidential counselor. The employer subsequently initiated a performance improvement plan while the employee was on sick leave.
According to the employee, she was accused of creating an unsafe work environment, without being informed about the content of the complaints or who had made them. Furthermore, she claimed she was denied any opportunity to respond. She argued that this amounted to seriously culpable conduct on the part of the employer.
What did the subdistrict court rule?
The subdistrict court sided with the employee and awarded a fair compensation of €155,000, plus €10,000 in attorney’s fees.
Did the Court of Appeal agree?
Not at all. On appeal, the court found that it was the employee herself who had acted with serious culpability. Rather than being treated unfairly, the employee had failed to critically reflect on her role as a manager and failed to recognize the significance of that role under the circumstances. The court, on the contrary, found that the employer had acted with proper care.
The result? The employee must repay both the fair compensation and the awarded attorney’s fees. A financial setback of €165,000.
Read the full judgment here.
Conclusion
Both employers and employees should seek expert legal advice before initiating legal proceedings, especially when it concerns the granting of fair compensation. The employment law attorneys at SPEE advocaten & mediation are happy to advise you in such cases.