Fired before fertility treatment, employer fined

A woman employed by Clearhaus A/S in Aarhus since May 2020 was terminated after her summer vacation, before she was to begin fertility treatments which the employer knew about. The Supreme Court ruled the company violated the Equal Treatment Act’s provisions on dismissal related to fertility treatments and ordered Clearhaus to pay 150,000 DKK in compensation plus interest, totaling around 200,000 DKK, and legal costs. Clearhaus had argued the firing was due to performance, not the upcoming fertility-related absence. The Court required the employer to provide evidence of a valid reason for dismissal, which Clearhaus failed to do. Despite the woman’s treatment not having started, the Supreme Court awarded her the claim based on gender equal treatment. Additionally, Clearhaus must pay legal fees amounting to over 130,000 DKK for court proceedings.