A court of justice has ruled inadmissible the dismissal of an employee who refused to turn on his webcam during working hours. He remained anonymous, the employee had his headquarters in the south of the Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. He worked for Florida-based American software developer Chetu.
On August 23, he was asked to participate in a virtual training. During this period, the employee was required to share his screen and keep his webcam on during his work hours. But two days later, he alerted his employer about his discomfort at being permanently filmed. It was then that he was notified on August 26 of his dismissal for “refusal to work” and “insubordination.”
Compensation of 75,000 euros
The Tilburg court ruled on September 28 in favor of the employee. According to the court ruling: “No urgent reason was given for immediate dismissal.” The company is thus accused of having made a disproportionate decision that violated the rules of data confidentiality.
In passing sentence, the Tilburg court relied on article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (relating to respect for private life) and on the decision of a European court. These two documents insist on the strict conditions surrounding the monitoring of employees. Here, the request to keep his webcam on continuously was seen as an unreasonable invasion of the complainant’s privacy.
The Chetu company thus had to pay some 75,000 euros to its former employee. This includes €2,700 in unpaid wages, €8,375 for unfair dismissal, €9,500 in worker transition aid, as well as €50,000 in severance pay.
Source: BFM TV
