newspaper de Volkskrant literary critic Arjan Peters should not have fired. Investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior towards female authors was “careless” and “not a full-fledged ground for dismissal.” The court in Amsterdam has that on Tuesday determined.
The newspaper has to pay Peters a compensation of 370,000 euros. In September 2020, a subdistrict court judge ruled that de Volkskrant had correctly shown Peters the door.
Brought in May 2020 NRC to the outside world that Peters was suspended by de Volkskrant as a result of inappropriate behavior towards various female authors. They were personally approached by Peters before he discussed their work in the newspaper.
The court found on Tuesday that Peters gave “insufficient account” of his dominant position as a reviewer in personal messages to the authors. Peters gave the impression that an appointment with him could influence the review of the author in question. One of the women he approached told de Volkskrant: “I would prefer not to meet at all. It was uncomfortable. You think it would affect the review of my book if I didn’t meet.” According to the court, Peters also leaked from a jury in which he participated.
No abuse position
Peters has “acted reproachfully”, his behavior has caused “unrest and a feeling of unease and insecurity” among the authors, the court concludes, but Peters has not abused his dominant position as a reviewer.
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The judge called the internal investigation that de Volkskrant itself conducted into the matter extremely careless. According to the court, the investigation would not have been established on the basis of concrete complaints, but rather had the character of a “fishing expedition”. Peters had no prior access to the findings and was not given the opportunity to respond adequately to the allegations.
The compensation that Peters receives comes on top of a transition payment of more than 32,000 euros that was previously awarded. He has worked for de Volkskrant since 1992 and has been employed since 2004.
Peters will not be compensated for his lost income until his retirement. The court is not sure that Peters would have served his employment with de Volkskrant. “After all, it is established that there were complaints” about Peters’ behavior and that these complaints “were at least partly justified”, according to the court.
De Volkskrant says it is still studying the verdict, and does not yet want to respond substantively.
Peters’ lawyers say in a response that Peters’ reputation has been “restored as best as possible”. They emphasize that the court calls it “incomprehensible” that de Volkskrant has insufficiently heard both sides of the argument.
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