Seriously ill and fired by the authorities: a woman from Munich is fighting against dismissal

Created: 11/28/2022, 7:45 p.m

By: Andreas Thieme

Dorthea J. (43) sued successfully against her dismissal.

© SIGI JANTZ

Because Dorothea J. was fired by her employer after 13 years, the woman with MS went to court in Munich.

Munich – Seriously ill and then fired: Our editorial team reported on Dorothea J. (43) under this heading.

The Munich native has been suffering from multiple sclerosis for 15 years and struggles through everyday life.

But her employer had fired her.

Dorothea J. had been employed by the district of Upper Bavaria since 2009.

Munich woman fights dismissal in court: "I'm healthy enough for it"

Dorothea J. had sued against her regular dismissal due to illness – with success.

According to the labor court, "the employment relationship of the parties is not terminated by the termination of February 3, 2022".

The value of the case: a total of 13,743 euros.

Dorothea J. had been on sick leave since January 7, 2020.

She says: “I can no longer walk 50 meters without a walker.”

Her impairment due to her illness, for which J. also has a severely disabled pass, is too great.

Nevertheless, she would like to work again and says: "I'm healthy enough for it." Before taking sick leave, she worked as a secretary and in the human resources department.

Woman falls seriously ill with multiple sclerosis – district of Upper Bavaria announces her

The district of Upper Bavaria saw it differently: Dorothea J.'s case was "without any recognizable tendency towards recovery/stabilisation", and there was also an "impossibility" to offer J. "a job that was suitable for the suffering".

Even after the trial at the labor court, the authority now sees “no obligation to continue employing the defendant,” says spokeswoman Constanze Mauermayer.

Now it's probably about an appropriate severance payment.

But it is also about dealing with it appropriately.

"I feel discriminated against because of my disability," says Dorothea J. It was "very clear" that she would never accept the termination.

Because her lawyer Tamara Henle also says: "The procedure, including the termination of the employer" is "legally extremely questionable and ethically very questionable".

Dorothea J. has meanwhile completed retraining as a clerk in the healthcare sector and says: "I also see my future in this field of work."

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