‘Sick’ mechanic demands tens of thousands of euros from employer who had him followed by investigators | Domestic
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court caseCan he really not work or is the man playing a game? The workplace is buzzing with rumors about a sick 36-year-old mechanic. Evil tongues claim that he is secretly catching up during his months of absence. When his employer gets wind of these stories, he has the man tracked by a detective agency. What follows is a years-long battle, which ended this week at the court in Utrecht.
The 36-year-old man has been working at the company as the first technician since 2019. He also has a sole proprietorship. The man states in his employment contract that he is allowed to continue his own business, provided that the various activities do not get in the way of each other.
In July 2021, the mechanic reports sick. This is the beginning of a period of long absence. A few months later the man appears at the company doctor’s office. He sees that things are not going well for him; In addition to physical ailments, the man suffers from psychological complaints. Because of those limitations, the technician cannot work fully. From the start of 2022, he will work adjusted times of two times two hours per week.
Rumors
But still some colleagues don’t trust it. Rumor is circulating within the company that the man is not nearly as ill as he pretends. Evil tongues claim that the mechanic works elsewhere during his period of incapacity for work. When those stories reach his employer, he wants to know whether this is correct. And the help of a detective agency is called in.
The investigators will keep a close eye on the 36-year-old man for a month
The investigators will keep a close eye on the 36-year-old man for a month. At the end of the observation period they present their report. And that’s not the point. According to them, there is nothing to show that the absent employee is actually ill. The mechanic does a lot of jobs for his own company; he constantly drives back and forth between his house and a garage in the area.
Spicy letter
The employer knows enough and decides to confront the mechanic with the findings during an interview. However, he rejects the invitation, stating that he is not yet able to travel such a long distance. The employer takes charge. A spicy letter threatens immediate dismissal. The technician is summoned to appear at the office within one week.
The mechanic understands that it is serious and calls for the help of a lawyer. He manages to delay the moment of confrontation by stating in a letter to his boss that the opinion of the company doctor must be awaited. According to the doctor, it would be good if the warring parties entered into discussions with each other, if necessary under the leadership of an independent mediator.
In the summer of 2022, the parties will make a final attempt at reconciliation, but it will not lead to a solution
Ultimate attempt at reconciliation
The employer initially has little sympathy for this and would rather see the mechanic leave and sends his lawyer a proposal to terminate the employment contract. The mechanic refuses. In the summer of 2022, the parties will make a final attempt at reconciliation, but it will not lead to a solution.
The situation continued until the UWV intervened more than a year later. The authority judges that the parties have worked hard on reintegration and that the technician is more than 65 percent fit for work. With the UWV ruling in hand, the employer will terminate the employment contract on October 30, 2023. Since then, the 36-year-old man has been receiving unemployment benefits.
Substantial compensation
As far as he is concerned, the matter is not over yet. The man believes that his former employer treated him in an unacceptable way by allowing a detective agency to pry into his private life. He takes the company to court and demands compensation of 62,000 euros for material damage and compensation of another 30,000 euros for non-material damage.
The court in Utrecht does not agree with this and ruled after the hearing in February last Tuesday. Although the judge finds it careless on the part of the employer that he did not first discuss the rumors with the mechanic, this does not mean that an investigative agency should not be called in.
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