Facts
The complainant, [X.] , had been employed by the FPA since October 1, 1996, and had been in an unlimited public-law employment relationship since January 1, 2002. In the summer of 2002 and from May 2003, he had to be treated in a psychiatric clinic for several weeks on each occasion. On October 23, 2003, the employment relationship was dissolved by mutual agreement. The complainant unsuccessfully challenged this agreement before the Federal Department of Finance and the Federal Personnel Appeals Commission.
The complainant claimed that the agreement was null and void because it was concluded during the notice period, or invalid due to his lack of capacity at the time. He requested that the decision of the Appeals Commission of September 27, 2006, be set aside and that he be declared to be employed by the Confederation without notice.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined whether the dissolution agreement of October 23, 2003, was legally valid. It found that the contracting parties can dissolve the employment relationship by mutual agreement at any time (Art. 10 para. 1 FPA). The lower courts had protected the agreement as legally valid.
The complainant raised various objections, including that the agreement was concluded during the illness-related notice period and was therefore null and void or invalid due to his lack of capacity at the time. However, the Federal Court found that the relative non-waivability of the provisions on protection against dismissal did not preclude the dissolution of the employment relationship by means of a termination agreement, provided that this did not lead to circumvention of the mandatory…