Dismissal of teacher due to vacation extension lawful
A teacher extended her leave on her own authority during the coronavirus pandemic and was dismissed from her job as a result. Rightly so, as the Schleswig-Holstein Higher Administrative Court ruled in a judgment published on Thursday (case no.: 14 LB 3/23). The court thus confirmed a ruling by the lower court from June.
According to the administrative court, the teacher had flown to Sri Lanka before the start of the 2020 Easter vacations because she feared that she would not be able to get there otherwise due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. She then let the return flights offered by the Federal Foreign Office lapse so that she would not have to cancel her vacation prematurely. Because her planned return flight was canceled due to the pandemic, she did not return until well after the end of her vacation.
The teacher was unable to provide emergency care during the vacations and misled the school management about her absence. She was later absent from a report conference without permission, although disciplinary proceedings had already been initiated against her.
On appeal, the Higher Administrative Court came to the conclusion that the maximum disciplinary measure of removal from office imposed by the Administrative Court was justified. An appeal to the Federal Administrative Court was not permitted. However, an appeal to the Federal Administrative Court is possible. The reasons for the decision were not yet available.
The Judgments issued by the Federal Administrative Court and the Schleswig-Holstein Higher Administrative Court upheld the dismissal of the teacher, citing her prolonged vacation and non-compliance with public service responsibilities. The school's procedures for dealing with such absences and misconduct were followed thoroughly throughout the entire process.
Source: www.dpa.com
