The professor (referred to here as X), who specialised in diabetes research, was dismissed per 1 July 2024 after a court case in Maastricht. X disagreed with the dismissal and lodged an appeal. He wanted his job back, and if that proved impossible, then he demanded a fair compensation of at least a million euros.
Tone
The dismissal case is related to the long-standing difficult relations between two departments at Maastricht University (Nutrition and Movement Sciences and Human Biology), and their escalation. It was caused by the plans for a new chair, and an emotional email in which X laid a number of accusations at the feet of a fellow professor at Human Biology. The email, addressed to Rianne Letschert, President of the Executive Board, said: “Do I have to be the one to tell him not to intimidate people at work? That you should keep your dick in your pants? Is that my job, or are you supposed to see the signs and listen to people.” Unlike the Limburg judge, the court of appeals does not share the conviction that X’s statements referred to alleged sexual misconduct. However, the words and tone used were “far below the standard that can be expected of a professor”.
Law firm
Because X also complained in his email about a feeling of social insecurity and his feeling that the FHML dean had, on multiple occasions, taken decisions to the detriment of his department, Letschert decided to commission an independent investigation into the situation. This was followed by a personal investigation (focused on X) by a law firm. Although UM has promised that this investigation would be done independently, the court found that this was not the case. The university had previously used the law firm for other matters involving labour law. Furthermore, the ‘investigating lawyer’ had admitted they were not independent. The court reprimanded UM, stating that this created the “appearance of bias”.
Illusion
Both the professor and the university have made serious accusations against each other; the court ruled that the working relationship has been disrupted and called a “promising return” to the workplace “an illusion”. According to the court, a list of complaints shows that X has “a basic feeling of not being heard and of insecurity”. In addition, X accuses various managers, some of whom are still employed by the faculty and research institute NUTRIM (which oversees the aforementioned departments), of failing to address the situation. At the same time, the court recognises that there is no confidence at UM that X can be reinstated, given the “seriously damaged” relationship with the dean, for example.
The professor will not get his job back, nor has the fair compensation he requested been awarded. However, as was decided by the court last year, he will be entitled to a transition payment of nearly 136,000 euros.
Observant has not publicised the names of the professors involved as it is not in the public interest to do so.