Termination of the chief physician ineffective

Labor Court: Corruption suspicion against chief physician - termination ineffective

12.05.2011

The dismissal of the chief physician of the St. Mauritius therapy clinic in Meerbusch because of corruption suspicion was repealed by the labor court of Dusseldorf. Both the termination without notice and the timely dismissal was ineffective because the employee representation was not sufficiently involved, the court said.

After the public prosecutor's office in Stuttgart had accused the head physician of the St. Mauritius therapy clinic because of the suspicion of corruption, the clinic management pronounced the 56-year-old physician in December 2010 a termination without notice. This did not accept the chief physician and complained before the Labor Court Dusseldorf. The responsible judge at the Labor Court, Dr. med. Michael Gotthardt, now canceled both the immediate and the timely dismissal.

Labor Court reverses dismissal of the former chief medical officer
The verdict at the labor court of Dusseldorf a lot of short and clear: The immediate and the timely dismissal of the chief physician are ineffective. The management of the St. Mauritius Therapy Clinic would then theoretically be forced to continue working for the chief physician, but so far the judgment is not final and there remains the possibility of the revision, stressed. Gotthardt. The judge considers such a step for „most likely“, because the criminal case against the chief physician before the Stuttgart district court is not yet completed and time can be gained by the revision to await the outcome of the criminal proceedings. Dr. According to Gotthardt, the defendant therapy clinic can delay the procedure in this way for up to one year, whereby no salary payments to the chief physician are due before a final judgment is given. Not least due to the seriousness of the allegations Dr.. Gotthardt also the theoretically required continued employment of the physician as „extremely unrealistic“.

Criminal proceedings for suspected corruption not yet completed
The 56-year-old chief physician of the St. Mauritius Therapy Clinic is accused by the Stuttgart Public Prosecutor's Office in independently running criminal proceedings to have collected bribes in the construction of the clinic more than ten years ago, and then to work for a specific construction company. The contractor is said to have paid the head physician converted 1.5 million euros, with part of the funds (950,000 euros) had already flowed between 1996 and 1997, so the charge of the prosecutor. Should the Stuttgart district court follow the allegations, the defendant is threatened with claims for damages in the corresponding amount. Because actually „the 1.5 million euros (...) in the figurative sense of the clinic“, Christian Röhrl, Managing Director of the St. Mauritius Therapy Clinic GmbH, emphasized at the beginning of the year. The accused chief physician denies, however, to have accepted bribes. Although he does not dispute that the payments were made by the contractor, they were due only as loans and fees for consultancy activities.

Clinic and chief physician reject a possible comparison
Despite the grave allegations against the former Chief Physician, the Duesseldorf Labor Court has no option but to cancel the dismissal because the employee representation in the form of the works council was not sufficiently involved in the decision. Since a corresponding verdict was already evident in advance, the judge responsible had submitted a possible settlement to both parties at the beginning of April in order to reach an agreement. The former chief physician would have been entitled to the continued payment of a basic salary of 10,000 euros by June 2011 and a severance payment of just under 120,000 euros, if an acquittal in criminal proceedings takes place before the Stuttgart district court. The termination without notice would have been converted into a proper termination on 30 June. But both the plaintiff and the defendant clinic rejected the settlement. So now there is a verdict in the room, with the two parties hardly helped. Because the hospital management can not accept the verdict actually without revision, since at least the outcome of the criminal proceedings is to be seen. And as long as there is no final judgment, the former chief physician receives no salary. So the decision was in principle only adjourned for now. (Fp)