Finnair Cargo ordered to pay massive damages for wrongful termination
Dispute over EUR 40 driving rebate costs company over EUR 100,000
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Helsinki District Court has ordered Finnair Cargo, which handles the air freight operations of the airline Finnair, to pay a former cargo warehouse employee EUR 107,000 for wrongful termination of employment.
The man was sacked in September last year after working with the company for 17 years. He had also served as a work safety representative, and as deputy shop steward.
The reason given for firing the man was a disagreement over a transportation rebate. The company said that the man had made unauthorised additions to a rebate claim after he had been specifically told not to, in order to get an extra EUR 41.70 in compensation for use of his own car.
In the company’s view, the man’s "deliberate and illegal" action had led to a serious lack of trust, resulting in the termination.
In the view of the court, Finnair Cargo did not have sufficient evidence that the employee was not entitled to the compensation that he claimed. In addition, the fact that he had the position of a shop steward meant that the employees that he represented should also have been consulted on the matter, which is something that Finnair Cargo failed to do.
In its decision on Wednesday, the court awarded the former employee nearly the maximum damages, because it found that the employer’s action was "most objectionable".
In the court’s view, the employer should have been very meticulous in determining the foundations of the termination, because sacking a person for misuse of funds carries a very negative label for an employee.
Finnair Cargo will decide in the coming days if it will appeal the court’s decision.
Helsingin Sanomat
