Mykolaiv rescuer dismissed from SES after participating in «MasterChef» is appealing the decision in court

A former employee of the Mykolaiv Oblast State Emergency Service has filed a lawsuit against the agency's actions. Photo: NikVesti

The Mykolaiv District Administrative Court has begun considering a lawsuit filed by Olesia Babii, a former employee of the Main Department of the State Emergency Service of Mykolaiv Oblast, who was fired because of her participation in the TV show «MasterChef».

This was reported by NikVesti.

The first hearing, scheduled for 28 May, was postponed due to the absence of representatives of the SES. Judge Vitalii Brahar postponed the hearing, despite the fact that the plaintiff's lawyer insisted that the case could be heard in the absence of the defendant.

In a conversation with NikVesti after the hearing, the former official said that mobbing by her superiors began after they learned about her participation in the TV project. Even though the period of her participation was during her official leave.

«Everyone knew I was going to Kyiv. Everything was agreed. During the show itself, I was ill, it was even shown on television, I was absent from some episodes. Unfortunately, the management assumed that I had bought a sick leave and began to put pressure on me from all sides. An internal investigation was opened against me when I was officially on sick leave, which is a violation. I was not there,» said Olesia Babii.

Olesia Babii and her defence lawyer in the Mykolaiv District Administrative Court. Photo: NikVesti

After returning from the project, she said, the pressure from her superiors continued, including an internal investigation and accusations of discipline.

«Although I wrote in my report that I was going to Kyiv. In general, the internal investigation indicated that I had violated articles that did not even exist. We mentioned this in the administrative claim,» she added.

Only after she provided her explanations for the internal investigation did the Main Department of the State Emergency Service of Mykolaiv Oblast file a complaint with law enforcement agencies alleging that she had colluded with the family doctor who had issued her certificates and that she had received an undue benefit.

«On 7 March, I went to work and started to face this pressure. And I have serious health problems, so I decided to undergo a medical examination and received a certificate that I was limitedly fit for service. On 29 April, I wrote a letter of resignation. It took a long time. On 16 May, when I came back to work on a regular day, police officers came to me and tried to hand me a corruption report, they had witnesses with them. I was not going to sign anything without a lawyer, and when he arrived, they did not allow me to sign the protocol. And immediately after that, I received a call from the HR department and was told that they would fire me,» Olesia Babii said.

At the same time, in response to an information request from city council member Tetiana Dombrovska about Olesia Babii's dismissal, the Main Department of the State Emergency Service of Mykolaiv Oblast replied that her participation in the show was not related to the decision to dismiss her.

The response of the management of the Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service of Mykolaiv Oblast to the MP's appeal. Document from Tetiana Dombrovska's Facebook page

The response of the leadership of the Mykolaiv Regional State Emergency Service to the MP's appeal. Document from Tetiana Dombrovska's Facebook page

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for 2 July.

As a reminder, Olesia Babii, a major of the Civil Protection Service of the Main Department of the State Emergency Service in Mykolaiv, was dismissed from her post because of her participation in the popular cooking show «MasterChef».

It is worth noting that Olesia Babii had worked at the department for 10 years. In March, the girl was among the top 20 participants of the 15th season of the cooking show «MasterChef».