Termination without notice in the event of a fake vaccination card
Termination without notice is only possible for good cause. The Cologne ArbG has decided that a counterfeit vaccination barrel may be one of these. The employee concerned also looked after nursing facilities, among other things.
Advertisement
The extraordinary termination without notice of an employee because of her forged vaccination card is effective. This was decided by the Labor Court (ArbG) in Cologne as part of an action for protection against unfair dismissal (ruling of March 23, 2022, Az. 18 Ca 6830/21).
The woman works for a company that offers consulting services in the field of workplace health promotion. In her job, the woman also looked after customers, including nursing homes. The company informed the workforce at the beginning of October 2021 that from November only vaccinated employees would be allowed to attend customer appointments on site. The woman pointed out that she was vaccinated and presented a vaccination certificate to the human resources department in early December 2021. Meanwhile, they continued to take client appointments in true presence.
When the company checked the vaccination cards for the employees, it turned out that the vaccine batches on the plaintiff woman’s vaccination card had actually been vaccinated after the date specified. The falsified vaccination card was thus exposed, and the company then gave notice of termination without notice.
The 18th chamber of the ArbG Köln sees the termination as justified by a corresponding reason. The woman claimed that the alleged and actual vaccination dates differed, which the employer claimed, which cannot be refuted. By continuously attending face-to-face appointments with customers, the woman not only behaved contrary to instructions, this also constitutes a material breach of duty by the woman in the interests of the company. By presenting a fake vaccination card, the woman forfeited the trust necessary to continue the employment relationship.
The judgment can still be appealed to the Regional Labor Court in Cologne.
jb/LTO editorial team