A worker with more than three decades of service was removed from a supermarket in Spain after an episode that led the company to consider having reason to apply the most serious sanction. The case ended in court and the court confirmed that the supermarket fired good for a reason that it considered valid.
The employee had had a work bond since 1987 and was working in an pack in Ferrol in Galicia. The episode that originated the process took place in February 2023, says the newspaper Online News Work.
Interception at the end of the shift
On the day of the facts, the worker went to the resort to change clothes at the end of the shift. Passing a security archery, the system sounded, leading the vigilance team to intervene.
Asked twice about carrying an unpaid article, he answered negatively. However, when the uniform piece was inspected, the alarm fired again and several products were found, the same source explains.
Detected content
Among the identified articles were four cans of beer, a folded can, a plum jam bottle and a soy lecithin box. None of these products had been paid before the worker went to the resort.
The company delivered the dismissal letter days later, invoking breach of good faith and non -compliance with internal rules.
DECISION OF THE FIRST INSTANCE COURT
The case was considered by the Labor Court, which concluded that both the concealment and the initial denial of the worker were proven. The decision considered that these actions configured a serious infraction.
The court rejected the allegation that health problems, such as migraines and anxiety, could have influenced the ability to discern or the intention of the employee, also reports.
Without application of gradualist theory
The defense asked the so -called gradualist theory to be applied, which provides for different degrees of sanction according to gravity. The court understood that, in the case of a violation of good contractual faith, this assessment does not apply.
The judgment determined that the contract could be terminated without compensation or processing wages.
Appeal to the Galicia Superior Court of Justice
The worker appealed the decision, but the Galicia Superior Court of Justice upheld the first instance. He stressed that, regardless of legal qualification, it was proved that the products were hidden in the uniform and transported without payment.
The decision emphasized that the breach of good contractual faith does not admit gradations and justifies the immediate termination of the labor bond.
Possibility of new resource
The judgment of the Superior Court does not necessarily terminate the case. There is a possibility of appeal for unification of jurisprudence to the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, the case remains as an example of a court decision where the company’s reason to justify that the supermarket fired an employee was accepted by the courts.
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