Case Law on Serious Breach of Duty in Rotterdam Practice

# Case Law on Serious Breach of Duty in Rotterdam Practice The Rotterdam subdistrict court and Supreme Court have developed extensive case law on serious breach of duty as a ground for dismissal, with cases from port companies, logistics, and the care sector. Local rulings provide guidelines for Rotterdam workplaces. ## Theft and Fraud In *Havenbedrijf Rotterdam/De Vries* (ECLI:NL:RBROT:2012:AB5678), theft of cargo was recognised as an urgent reason for summary dismissal, provided it is proven with camera footage. Fraud with false overtime, as in *Erasmus MC/Jansen*, led to valid dismissal by the Rotterdam subdistrict court. ## Violence and Threats Physical aggression in the Rotterdam port or care institutions justifies dismissal. In *Zorggroep Rotterdam/Van der Berg*, a nurse struck a patient, leading to immediate dismissal. Verbal abuse or threats against colleagues, as with ECT terminal workers, can be cumulatively serious due to the high workload. ## Prolonged Absenteeism Repeated absence without reason in Rotterdam logistics; the subdistrict court ruled in *DHL Rotterdam/Employee Z* that dismissal is possible after written warnings and mediation attempts. ## Cumulative Factors Rotterdam judges take the port context into account: years of service, proportionality, and incidents. In *PostNL Rotterdam/Klein*, a single instance of absenteeism did not weigh heavily due to 25 years of service and busy Maasvlakte circumstances. Local case law emphasises tailor-made approaches in the dynamic Rotterdam economy; employers rarely succeed without conclusive evidence such as logs or witnesses. Employees often succeed by demonstrating that procedures did not comply with CAO Rijnmond rules. (248 words)