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Justice Confirms Maximum Punishment By Understanding That There Was A Breach Of Trust After Employee Failed To Attend Work Due To Illness And Worked At Another Job On The Same Day, According To Decision Of The Labor Court Of Belo Horizonte
The Labor Court upheld the dismissal for just cause of a worker who presented a medical certificate for conjunctivitis and, on the same day of the justified absence, was caught working for another employer. The decision was made by the presiding judge of the 5th Labor Court of Belo Horizonte, Jésser Gonçalves Pacheco, and definitively closed the case, with no appeal filed.
The case drew attention due to the contradictory nature of the conduct analyzed. Although the employee claimed health reasons for her absence from work on August 20, 2024, she herself admitted in the court records that she engaged in professional activity elsewhere on the same date. In light of this, the court concluded that there was an act of improbity and a breech of fiduciary trust, an essential element of the employment relationship.
The information was disclosed by the Regional Labor Court of Minas Gerais (TRT-MG), according to court records analyzed by the court responsible for the judgment.
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The Employee’s Claim and Request for Reversal of Just Cause
In the labor lawsuit, the professional argued that the reasons for the dismissal did not correspond to the reality of the facts. According to her version, the absence from work occurred due to conjunctivitis, a contagious condition, and aimed to avoid the risk of contagion to a pregnant colleague.
Based on this argument, the worker requested the reversal of just cause, seeking recognition of an unjustified dismissal and, consequently, payment of all severance pay provided for in labor legislation, such as payment in lieu of notice, proportional vacation plus 1/3, proportional 13th salary, 40% fine on the FGTS, in addition to the release of the guides for fund withdrawal and access to unemployment insurance.
However, despite the argument presented, the very content of the records ended up weakening the defensive thesis. This is because the employee formally admitted that, even while sick, she attended the other job on the same day, claiming urgency and high demand at the location.
Judge’s Understanding of Just Cause and Breach of Trust
Upon analyzing the case, the judge emphasized that dismissal for just cause represents the most severe penalty provided for in the employment contract. Therefore, it requires strong, clear, and convincing evidence of the serious fault committed by the employee, a burden that, according to him, falls exclusively on the employer.
Nonetheless, in the judge’s understanding, this requirement was fully met. As highlighted in the sentence, just cause is characterized when there is a serious violation of the main contractual obligations, to the point of making the continuation of the employment relationship unsustainable, especially due to the rupture of the element of trust — the so-called fiduciary trust, essential to the employment legal bond.
The judge noted that the plaintiff herself acknowledged having worked elsewhere on the same day she presented the medical certificate. In a passage of the process, the worker stated that she acted “due to high urgency and demand” and believed she was acting in good faith, considering the environment of the second job more restricted.
Despite this, the judge was categorical in asserting that the conduct is not legally sustainable.
Contradiction Between the Medical Certificate and Work At Another Location
For the judge, the situation revealed an evident contradiction. Although the gesture of trying to spare a pregnant colleague from possible contagion may be seen as humanitarian, the fact that the worker engaged in labor activity at another establishment on the same day undermines the credibility of the justification presented.
According to the understanding expressed in the decision, impropriety justifying just cause is that which directly affects the mutual trust between employee and employer. In this specific case, that trust was considered tainted by the behavior adopted.
The judge emphasized that if the health condition was sufficiently severe to prevent work in one location, it would be illogical to allow the exercise of professional activity elsewhere, even in a different environment. This inconsistency, according to the sentence, was decisive for the maintenance of the maximum penalty.
Thus, the Labor Court fully upheld the just cause applied by the employing foundation, based in Belo Horizonte.
Denied Severance Pay and Definitive File of the Case
With the confirmation of just cause, all requests related to the reversal of the dismissal were automatically denied. The worker was not entitled to payment in lieu of notice, proportional vacation with additional one-third, proportional 13th salary, nor indemnity of 40% on the FGTS.
Moreover, the issuance of the necessary guides for FGTS withdrawal and qualification for unemployment insurance was also denied, benefits restricted to cases of unjustified dismissal.
Finally, as no appeal was filed, the case was definitively filed, closing the matter in the first instance of the Labor Court.
In your opinion, does presenting a medical certificate and working at another job on the same day justify just cause, or was the punishment excessive given the circumstances?
Deveria ser 5 x 100= 500
Infelizmente casos como este se repete, a justificativa por si só já caracteriza falta grave, como alegar que está doente, se opta por trabalhar em outro ambiente. Infelizmente Algumas pessoas agem sem conhecimento e acabam denegrindo a própria imagem, e a imagem de outrem🤔. Decisão proferida com prudência, ao meu entendimento 👏👏👏👏👍
Que sirva de exemplos para outros que agem de má fé, com o mesmo propósito 👏👏👏👍
Sem noção está moça