Court: Man secretly working 3 full-time jobs simultaneously must repay €90,000

A man who secretly worked for three different housing associations at the same time for a total workload of 104 hours per week must repay a combined total of about 90,000 euros to two of his former employers. This decision comes from two rulings made by the District Court in The Hague in mid-March which were published this week.

The employee initially joined Wooncompas housing corporation in Ridderkerk, Zuid-Holland, at the end of 2017 with a monthly salary of 4,560 euros. He was working 36 hours per week as a district consultant, reported RTL Nieuws. The company also allowed him to perform ancillary activities as an athletics coach and personal trainer.

Without informing his first employer, the man then accepted a second job in June 2019 at the Mooiland housing corporation as a regional administrator, working 32 hours per week and earning 4,418 euros per month. The workplace was located in Grave in the province of Noord-Brabant, an 80-minute drive from his first job site.

Mooiland granted him permission to continue working 8 hours per week for Wooncompas on a self-employed basis. But it was later established that he was still working 36 hours a week for his first employer, resulting in a combined workload of 68 hours per week, which in principle had to be carried out during office hours on weekdays. Both employers did not notice any issues, probably because his positions allowed him to frequently work outside the office.

In October 2019, the man went on sick leave at Wooncompas due to a traffic accident. He also reported sick to Mooiland a month later. Both employers continued to pay his salary while he was ill. Despite being on sick leave from both companies, he soon began a third job as a freelancer in April 2020 at the Wooninvest housing corporation in Voorburg, Zuid-Holland. Within a month, he transitioned to a full-time position of 36 hours per week as the company was pleased with his work.

By June 2020, he was on record as holding three employment positions for a total of 104 hours per week. Wooncompas discovered the man's other jobs after the pension fund used by all three housing corporations raised an alarm about the man's multiple registrations with the fund. That led to an investigation and his dismissal a month later.

The subdistrict court in The Hague ruled in January 2021 that Wooncompas' dismissal was justified and that the employer was not obligated to pay termination benefits. The former employee appealed the ruling but lost the case in the Court of Appeal in The Hague.

The two new rulings by the District Court of The Hague published this week show that two of the three former employers won damages from the man. Wooncompas demanded nearly 64,000 euros, and Mooiland wanted over 37,500 euros back. The man argued that he had performed his work satisfactorily for both corporations and should not have to repay anything.

The court ruled that the man did not have to repay the salary for the period before he called in sick but must repay the wages he received while on sick leave from Wooncompas and Mooiland. The court ordered him to pay 43,767 to Wooncompas, less than what they wanted. He also has to pay 37,553 to Mooiland.

This brings the total amount to be repaid to about 90,000 euros, including the interest he was ordered to pay, and the legal fees he has to pay to both companies.