The former director of ProActif, François Georges, is contesting his immediate dismissal and has filed a complaint with the labour tribunal, claiming that his termination was unlawful.
According to ProActif President Norbert Conter, François Georges was dismissed in February 2024 for aggressive behaviour and other instances of professional misconduct, as stated during a board of directors meeting.
The former director, however, rejects these accusations and has taken legal action to challenge the decision before the labour tribunal.
In the interim ruling, Georges did not win his case. Now, however, the former ProActif director is playing another card, that of bias.
Georges argues that it was unusual for the board of directors to be merely informed of his dismissal rather than asked to formally approve the decision. The judge, however, viewed the situation differently in June of this year, and the case is set to continue on Wednesday at the Plateau du Saint-Esprit.
While Georges and his lawyer have not yet appealed the ruling, they are now challenging the impartiality of the tribunal itself, specifically one of the two assessors who, in labour law cases, deliberate alongside the presiding judge.
The assessor in question is a full member of the Luxembourg Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (LCGB) and serves in the plenary assembly of the Chamber of Employees. Since the LCGB founded ProActif and was, indirectly, Georges' employer, the former director argues that the assessor cannot be considered neutral in the proceedings.
On Monday, the tribunal received a motion for recusal from Georges via bailiff. The motion contends that, due to the assessor’s proximity to the LCGB leadership, he should step aside from the case.
If the motion is successful, Georges argues that the interim ruling should be annulled on grounds of a conflict of interest.
As the recusal motion only reached the tribunal on Monday, the substantive hearing of the case will likely not take place until next year. Whether the motion succeeds and the LCGB assessor withdraws remains to be seen.
LCGB President Patrick Dury declined to comment on the matter.
