Why am I not invited for an internal job interview?

Questioner

I am currently employed by 2 employers. I am on unpaid leave with 1 employer. Now I have applied for an internal vacancy with the employer where I am on unpaid leave. I called about this on Monday because I was curious about the status of the vacancy. I was then told that everyone who applied internally would be invited for an interview. Now I have just been called again with the message that I will not be invited for an interview (initially) because I am on unpaid leave and they are giving priority to employees who are currently working. I find this quite strange because I am still employed and have a permanent contract, I have been working for this employer for 12 years now. I am very interested in the position and, even if I were to get the job, I wanted to terminate my employment contract with the other employer. Is there anything I can do about this? Thank you in advance!

Lawyer

In principle, you cannot force the employer to enter into an employment contract with you regarding the vacant position (unless demonstrable commitments have been made or if, for example, there is an applicable collective labor agreement provision that you could rely on). You would be wise to have an (open) discussion with the employer to find out the exact reason why you were rejected. In my opinion, good employer practices do entail that your employer should be able to explain this in a plausible manner. Does it simply have to do with the fact that you are not working, which would be strange in itself, or is there perhaps something else behind it (?)