They sent messages for years in which not only insults were expressed to each other, but also other participants of the group chat fell victim to the offensive content. These conversations contain racist, sexist statements and remarks that incite violence. For example, they talked about ‘punching people in the face’. Some of these chats were forwarded to the works council and a personnel manager at TUIfly. This resulted in the dismissal of the employees concerned.
The case eventually ended up in the highest employment court, after a lower court ruled that the employees could count on confidentiality within the group chat. The highest court asked whether such a group chat is ‘a kind of fortress’ in which everything is allowed without fear of employment law consequences.
It was decided that this is not the case. While messages can indeed be shared in confidence, secrecy regarding abusive and racist remarks only applies in exceptional circumstances, as determined by the employment tribunal.