The man, who had been working part-time at Lidl since June 2021, had an annual contract but was not functioning properly. The company offered him a settlement agreement in March 2022, stating that he would leave by mutual consent on May 1.
The man received an email about this, to which he responded with the words ‘agree’. Later, the employer and employee were in contact via WhatsApp, in which the man indicated that he had received the agreement and that he had signed it in the post.
Mail not received
However, that document never reached the employer, after which the man said he sent a copy that also did not arrive. When he was approached about this via WhatsApp, he said: “Unfortunately I have no control over what happens in the mail.”
WhatsApp traffic went back and forth for almost two months, during which the man insisted that he had sent everything on paper and via email – signed and well. Until he announced on May 25 that he did not agree with his resignation.
In his own words, he had not yet received any holiday pay and the employer would have deliberately blocked that deposit, after which he threw his ass against the crib.
Holiday pay
“If the holiday pay had been properly deposited, we would have finished the entire process, instead this will now get an annoying tail.” On June 6, the contract between the two parties ended anyway, because the annual contract expired.
The employee went to court because Lidl had no longer paid his wages from 1 May, as well as the holiday pay and irregularity allowances, among other things. He earned almost 900 euros a month and would still have more than 600 euros in credit.
Thinking time expired
A signed settlement agreement is not necessarily required for a legally valid contract termination, according to the court. An email or app with confirmation also counts. After all, it is clear from the digital communication that the assistant supermarket manager agreed with the dismissal.
It does not matter that the e-mails or apps do not mention all the conditions of the dismissal. The man did have a cooling-off period of 14 days, but that had long expired in May when he withdrew his agreement. The fact that he had only meant to agree with the working method (agreement that he would receive a letter) with his ‘agreement’ in the e-mail was not credible, given the further communication.
Litigation costs higher than demanded compensation
The man may therefore be fired and must also pay more than 700 euros in legal costs. Although only small amounts are involved in this lawsuit, the case is important for other employees who agree to their dismissal via email or app. A digital agreement without a signature on official documents is therefore also valid.
It is unclear why Lidl offered a settlement agreement that would take effect on May 1, if the man had to leave in June anyway due to the end of his contract. Such an agreement is not often offered because of the costs. A spokesperson for Lidl says that the company “cannot comment on individual cases given the privacy sensitivities”.
Blue check marks
It is not the first time that a judge in dismissal cases looks at sent or sent WhatsApp messages. Two years ago, for example, a woman who had a temporary contract was allowed to be fired and stated that she had not received any notification that her contract was not being renewed.
The woman claimed not to have received the physical letter, an e-mail and a WhatsApp message with a cancellation letter. However, the employer was able to demonstrate that there were two blue check marks behind the app message, which proved that the woman was aware of her dismissal.
