Critical e-mails did not constitute sufficient grounds for fair dismissal
On 5 March 2026, the Danish Eastern High Court ruled in a case concerning whether the dismissal of a chief accountant was reasonably justified by the employee’s conduct. The case arose after the employee sent two critical emails to the company’s CEO, the Board of Directors, and her immediate manager.
The chief accountant had been employed since 2008. After discovering that her position had been anonymously advertised, she sent two emails in which she sharply criticising the process and making allegations against her immediate manager. Shortly thereafter, she was terminated without any stated reason. During the proceedings, the employer argued that the termination was reasonably justified on the grounds of the employee’s disloyal conduct.
The Eastern High Court: The prior course of events weakened the grounds for dismissal
The Danish Eastern High Court found that, based on their content and tone, the employee’s emails constituted disloyal conduct. The Court emphasized that the employee directed sharp and severe criticism at her immediate manager, including allegations of disloyalty, lack of professionalism, and misleading behavior. The criticism was also shared with both the CEO and the Board of Directors, and the emails contained statements that called into question management’s decisions and the company’s values.
However, the Eastern High Court found that this was not sufficient for the dismissal to be considered reasonably justified. In its assessment, the Court placed decisive weight on the preceding course of events. The employer had advertised the employee’s position without clearly communicating the implications for her employment. At the same time, the job posting indicated that candidates would be invited to interviews on an ongoing basis.
The Court also noted that the employer did not respond to the employee’s inquiries and that no concerns had been raised regarding her competencies – neither on an ongoing basis nor in connection with her most recent performance review.
Based on an overall assessment, the High Court concluded that the dismissal was not reasonably justified by the employee’s conduct. The employee was therefore awarded compensation pursuant to section 2b of the Danish Salaried Employees Act, corresponding to three months’ salary. In addition, the Court found that she was entitled to a severance payment, bonus, and payment for 21.84 days of unused vacation.
Littler’s Comments
The judgment emphasize that disloyal conduct, does not always constitute sufficient grounds for a fair termination. The assessment under section 2b of the Danish Salaried Employees Act is based on an overall evaluation, in which the employer’s handling of the situation also carries significant weight.
In this case, it was decisive that the employer created an unclear and opaque process by advertising the employee’s position without informing her of the implications for her future within the company.
The fact that the dismissal was not specifically based on the employees’ disloyal behavior may have influenced the High Court’s assessment, as the dismissal also appeared to be partly based on the employee’s competencies, with the court emphasizing that that no prior concerns had been raised regarding her competencies.
Questions regarding this article and the applicable legal framework may be directed to Attorney Christian Bonne Rasmussen at
Disclaimer: This article is not and cannot replace legal advice.
