Chief physician quit on suspicion of corruption

Chief physician dismissed for suspected corruption - court proposes settlement

08/04/2011

The former chief physician of the St. Mauritius Therapy Clinic accused of corruption would be entitled to a provisional continuation of his salary and - in case of an acquittal of the allegations made - a six-figure compensation in the course of a settlement. The parties now have until April 20 to agree on the possible settlement in the relevant proceedings before the Düsseldorf Labor Court.

For the responsible judge at the labor court Duesseldorf, Dr. med. Michael Gotthardt, the comparison presented by him offers a good option to reach an agreement in the run-up to the pending judgment in the criminal proceedings on suspicion of corruption before the Regional Court of Stuttgart. If the settlement is not accepted, the Chamber of Labor's 14th Chamber will decide on 11 May to dismiss the former Chief Medical Officer without notice, said Dr. Gotthardt.

Termination without notice took place after corruption suspicion
After the allegations of corruption against the chief physician had become known last year, the St. Mauritius therapy clinic had terminated the 56-year-old physician in December without notice. The doctor went against this in his view, unlawfully pronounced termination before the Labor Court Dusseldorf. In doing so, the presiding judge already confirmed that in the run-up to the termination the employee representation may not have been sufficiently heard. On the other hand, whether a conviction takes place in criminal proceedings or not is, according to the judge, less decisive for the lawfulness of the dismissal. The dismissal without notice may be lawful even if there is no conviction in the criminal proceedings, since continuation of the employment relationship after such a serious suspicion may be considered unreasonable for the employer, Gotthardt. Since the legality of the termination does not depend on the decision expected in June in the criminal proceedings at Stuttgart Regional Court, a verdict at the Labor Court of Dusseldorf is already possible in advance, the presiding judge continues. Due to the acceleration in labor law, the court „do not wait for the outcome of the ongoing criminal proceedings“, stressed Gotthardt.

Key points of a possible comparison
The settlement offer for the former chief physician suspected of corruption provides for the continued payment of a basic salary of € 10,000 until June and a severance payment of € 120,000 if an acquittal in criminal proceedings takes place before the Stuttgart district court. If the physician and his former employer agree on the settlement, the separation will be converted into a proper termination by June 30, Dr. Ing. Gotthardt. Although the 56-year-old on the basis of the settlement even in an acquittal of corruption allegations have no option to continue his work in the St. Mauritius Therapy Clinic, but that would save him the severance pay. For both sides have „the settlement proposal (...) relatively much charm“, This is the opinion of Judge Gotthardt.

Chief physician is said to have collected 1.5 million bribes
In the independently running criminal case, the physician is accused by the public prosecutor's office in Stuttgart, he had conceded more than ten years ago in the construction of the clinic bribes in order to then assert his influence for a particular construction company. The former chief physician is said to have received 1.5 million euros, part of the funds (950,000 euros) having been paid between 1996 and 1997. Actually, they are „the 1.5 million euros (...) in the figurative sense of the clinic, since it can be assumed that the construction could have been carried out on more favorable terms“, said the managing director of the St. Mauritius Therapy Clinic GmbH, Christian Röhrl, at the beginning of the year. In the case of a conviction in criminal proceedings, the former Chief Physician must expect compensation. The doctor still does not deny having received money from the contractor, but he emphasizes that these were merely loans and fees for consultancy work. As evidence for his statement, the accused in Stuttgart presented some concepts, said Dr. Gotthardt. A complete documentation is not possible because many concepts for the accused are said to be no longer tangible because his computer was stolen in a burglary. (Fp)

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