Safety Care Drenthe demands 250,000 euros from former director Henk de R. (65). De R. was suspended in June after 29 years of employment. Both parties agree that the employment contract should be terminated, but differ in opinion about the financial consequences associated with this.
On Friday, both camps were in court in Assen. The dismissal was not under discussion. An independent agency investigated 28 suspected integrity violations and came to the conclusion that the former director had not acted in accordance with the articles of association seven times. According to the foundation’s lawyer, Wilco Nieuwenhuis, three cases involve possible criminal conduct.
The lawyer states that De R. has allowed himself too much freedom in carrying out his work. He is said to have acted on his own when renting, letting or renovating properties. He failed to request permission from the board for this, the lawyer outlined. In addition, money from the foundation would have been used for private expenses, such as an extension to his home.
De R. is also said to have enriched his son-in-law with 5,000 euros when purchasing a company car. The foundation has now filed a report against De R. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has yet to decide whether to prosecute.
The Drenthe Safety Care Foundation wants to recover 250,000 euros from De R. He in turn hopes that the judge will stop this. The former director considers the accusations disproportionately serious. He was dealt with harshly from one day to the next, he said through his lawyer Paul van Boven.
He calls the investigation agency’s report careless. “All locations of the buildings were neatly listed in the annual report. The board was able to open and view this.”
According to Van Boven, the investigation agency has not spoken to everyone involved, so a complete picture has not been sketched. R. can no longer access his mailbox and his bank account and home have now been seized. The fact that private and work matters were mixed up, such as using the same contractor, can at best be called unfortunate, according to the lawyer.
De R. wants a severance payment of 110,000 euros. “I have worked for the foundation for almost thirty years, received annual bonuses and have always been viewed positively,” he said.
The judge hinted that there was some room for compromise on the investigation agency’s report. He also said he was shocked by the amount of compensation the foundation is demanding. The verdict will be announced on December 5.