Ask the law: Factory workers deliberately destroyed machinery

Question:

I am a factory owner. A month ago, one of the factory workers, in cooperation with other workers, deliberately destroyed a machine in the factory, and as a result, work in the factory was disrupted and I suffered great losses. My question: what is the appropriate legal action to take against them and do I have the legal right to claim compensation from the insurance company even though the factory was deliberately damaged by the workers? Please advise.

Answer:

To answer this question, I would advise the questioner that:

As per Article 44 of Labour Law, you had the opportunity to terminate them without notice after conducting an investigation with them and informing the Ministry within 7 days from the date of being aware of the occurrence of the incident (“the employer may dismiss the worker without notice after conducting a written investigation with him and the dismissal decision shall be in writing and justified and the employer or its representative shall hand it over to the worker in case the worker committed a mistake that resulted in gross physical losses to the employer or he deliberately damaged the properties of the employer and he acknowledged the same, provided that the latter informs the Ministry of the incident within (7) seven working days from the date of being aware of the occurrence of the incident.”)

Accordingly, and since you did not complain to the Ministry of Labour, you shall complain to the police to investigate about the matter and as per the criminal decision, you must file a case against the employees and include the insurance company to request for compensation because as per Article 1034 of the Civil Transactions Law, the insurer is bound to pay the insured amount or the sum due to the insured or the beneficiary, as agreed, upon occurrence of the risk or maturity of the period fixed in the contract based on the fact that insurance is a contract whereby both the insured and the insurer cooperate together to face the risks or accidents insured against and, whereby in consideration of a specified amount or periodical premiums, the insurer undertakes, upon occurrence of the event or the risk specified in the contract, to pay to the insured or the beneficiary a sum of money, an annuity or any other pecuniary right.