Man wins €72,000 in severance pay after getting fired for trying to kiss receptionist

An unsolicited kiss costs the technology company Fujitsu 72,000 euros. An employee at the Dutch branch of the Japanese technology company Fujitsu kissed a receptionist without being asked. As a result, he was fired without notice and did not receive a pension. The employee took legal action against this, which has now been upheld by the Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal. Fujitsu must pay the former employee a substantial severance payment, RTL Nieuws reported.

Fujitsu dismissed the then-63-year-old automation employee in May 2021 for allegedly trying to kiss a 24-year-old receptionist in the company lobby. The man claimed that he never wanted to kiss the woman on the mouth but wanted to give her a kiss on the cheek to say goodbye. The man was about to retire at the time and had reportedly never behaved inappropriately in the 39 years he had worked for the company.

Shortly afterward, the man was dismissed without notice. The man then went to court. In the court hearing, the man denied wanting to kiss the receptionist on the lips: "I spoke to [the receptionist] briefly and wanted to say goodbye with a kiss on the cheek. When I was less than 5 cm from her right cheek, she indicated that she did not appreciate this, but it was too late to stop the movement. I said sorry and apologized to her, and she said, "Okay."

A few months after the dismissal, the Utrecht District Court ruled that Fujitsu had fired the man lawfully and that termination without notice was legitimate. The ruling had serious consequences for the then 63-year-old, as he lost his entitlement to unemployment benefits due to his culpable dismissal.

The man was not satisfied with the decision and appealed. In the summer of 2022, the court ruled that Fujitsu would have to prove that the 63-year-old actually wanted to kiss the woman on the mouth. The company was unable to provide the appellate court with enough conclusive evidence that the man intended to kiss the 24-year-old receptionist on the mouth.

Last Wednesday, the Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the man, and he will receive 72,000 euros from Fujitsu. The sum consists of almost 51,000 euros in severance pay and a salary of almost 16,000 euros for the notice period. In addition, the court ruled that he receives 5,000 euros in compensation for unfair dismissal.

However, the appeal court also said that the former employee was not exempt from blame, RTL Nieuws reported. "He should have been aware that he should have asked the receptionist for permission in advance if he could give her a kiss on the cheek as a farewell," the appeal court stated.