Babboe not allowed to fire whistleblower over "life threatening" cargo bike reports
Dutch cargo bike manufacturer Babboe was denied permission to fire a whistleblower who reported problems with the company's products, according to a ruling published on Wednesday. Babboe told the Subdistrict Court of Amersfoort that the person in question is regarded as a "committed employee with expert knowledge, but also as someone who acts in an escalating manner and causes conflicts." The employee stated that his employer treated him poorly by ignoring the issues he reported, and the court sided with him, while further admonishing Babboe for failing to address his concerns.
Last month, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) ordered Babboe to stop selling cargo bikes after reports that their frames could randomly break. The company also recalled its CITY, CITY E, MINI, and MINI E cargo bikes over safety concerns.
The court ruling shows that the defendant, a 47-year-old mechanic, contacted the Dutch Whistleblowers Authority in September 2023 after his complaints within the company fell on deaf ears. That led to a conversation with the NVWA the following month, which prompted the watchdog to inspect the business in November. Babboe petitioned the court on December 21 to request permission to fire the mechanic, roughly eight weeks before the NVWA issued their decision to temporarily halt sales.
He has been working with the company for over 12 years, and has been under a permanent contract since 2013. After about eight years on the job, he began to notice a rapidly growing number of problems with bicycles sold by the company, aside from those subject to a previous recall in 2019. He said there was a clear shift he observed while working as a mechanic in 2021 and 2022, issues which he regularly raised with various layers of management.
"He could no longer cope" with the safety problems he identified in the company's various cargo bike models, some of which he outright considered to be "life threatening," his attorney argued. "By this, he means frame fractures, defective steering joints, seat posts and displays."
In challenging the company's request to sever their permanent contract with the employee, she stated that he "is a committed and loyal employee and has always performed well." However, starting around 2021, the problems became more severe and involved bicycle models which had not been part of an earlier recall. “As a father of two children, he had a crisis of conscience. He suffered a lot from tension and no longer wanted to lie,” the lawyer said.
Despite repeated efforts to get the company to provide guidance, support, or a plan for tackling the issue, Babboe did nothing about his internal reports, the lawyer said. “On the contrary, he was silenced and portrayed as a difficult employee.” The court agreed, saying a combative relationship would have been avoided if the company had dealt with the man's complaints in a responsible manner.
The court gave particular importance to Babboe's claim that the employee "performed well, up to the moment that his reports about the frame fractures started to dominate the employment relationship." The court said it was clear that he was no longer able to put the issue aside, and repeatedly tried to address the situation. "From the documents submitted, the impression arises that management did not want to hear it, that [defendant] became harsher in his statements and that management became increasingly annoyed by him. [Plaintiff] has a point that [Defendant] has not exactly expressed himself subtly, but the Subdistrict Court cannot ignore the fact that increasing frustration and emotion on the [Defendant's] part became visible. "
The court also specifically raised the issue of a recorded conversation Babboe entered into evidence. According to the judge, it gave the impression that the employee was “challenged to say things he would regret.” The court was very critical of this move. “This action does not demonstrate good employment practices, which is why the subdistrict court judge disregarded the conversation.”
The court ruled in the employee’s favor. The court also ordered Babboe to pay nearly 2,500 euros in damages to the employee to cover his legal costs when he grew concerned about his standing with the company, and 950 euros to reimburse his legal fees regarding the court case.
