Status: 08/24/2023 2:35 p.m
Is dismissal legal if employees insult their boss in a closed WhatsApp group and it becomes public? The Federal Labor Court is hearing a dispute from Lower Saxony today.
With the precedent from Lower Saxony, the Federal Labor Court in Erfurt is faced with the question of whether a WhatsApp group among colleagues is a protected space in which private abuse of bosses can be exchanged without consequences under labor law. Parts of the chats, in which work colleagues from an airline from Lower Saxony slandered a manager from their company, first reached the works council and then the HR manager: Another employee copied the chat history of the employees after he was shown the messages. The authenticity was confirmed in writing by one of the parties involved.
Employer terminates WhatsApp group members without notice
According to the court, the employees insulted one of their bosses in the chats with racist, sometimes inhuman and sexist statements. According to the information, they also called for violence, so there is talk of “punching in the face”. When the employer found out about this, he gave immediate notice of termination.
Labor lawyers: Insults “crass and inhuman”
The employees complained to the labor court in Hanover and were right: the employer should pay them their wages in arrears. The employer appealed against this to the Lower Saxony Regional Labor Court. The regional labor court also upheld the employee’s complaint, but allowed an appeal. Now the federal labor judges are dealing with the case from Lower Saxony. A decision should be made today. Employment lawyer Gregor Thüsing described the insults made in the chat group as blatant and inhuman. “The question is whether it’s still private and therefore protected.” In this way, chat content could be forwarded and saved.
Further information
In three cases, the courts in Braunschweig and Emden found the plaintiffs right. VW now has to raise their salaries again. (07/05/2023) more
The Lüneburg Labor Court saw a “serious breach of duty”. The man had stayed away from a training course. (05.04.2023) more
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NDR 1 Lower Saxony | Current | 08/24/2023 | 09:00 a.m