Groping woman's breast at work is not a sackable offence, rules Germany court

Berlin: A Germany court has ruled that it is not a sackable offence for a man to grope a woman's breast at the workplace, after a mechanic who was fired for groping a cleaner won a legal ruling.

Judges ordered the garage to reinstate the 37-year-old mechanic and said only serial fondling merited dismissal, the Mirror reported.

The mechanic, who was sacked in 2012 over the incident and appealed the decision through various courts before the latest hearing, said it had been "a moment of madness," apologised to the 26-year-old woman and paid her money.

Judges, after hearing of the circumstances of the case, said that sexual harassment in the workplace must not lead to the immediate termination of the offender, adding that if unethical approaches actually entail a dismissal, it should always depend on the circumstances of the case.

However, the garage said it may appeal against the verdict from a labour court in Erfurt, near Leipzig, Germany.