Immediate Termination Of The Employment Relationship Also Possible During Garden Leave

The Hessian Regional Labour Court (judgement dated 29 August 2011 – 7 Sa 248/11) decided that an employee can also be declared the immediate termination of his employment relationship if he has been released from his employment duties until the end of the termination notice period or the agreed end of the employment relationship.

According to the underlying factual situation, the claimant had worked since October 2008 as a company account manager at a Düsseldorf bank, and since April 2009 had general power of representation ["Prokura"]. By cancellation agreement of 16 June 2010, the parties agreed to end the employment relationship as per 31 December 2010 and to release the claimant from his employment duties as of 1 July 2010 until the agreed termination date. On 29 and 30 June 2010 the claimant sent a total of 94 e-mails with ca. 622 megabytes in 1660 file attachments from his work e-mail mailbox to his private e-mail mailbox at gmx.de. The file attachments