A 24 -year -old employee was faced by El Corte Inglés’ travel agency after using irregularly using digital coupons attributed to customers to buy two mobile phones. The case reached the courts and the decision was clear: the dismissal was considered proceeding.
According to the Spanish noticias work portal, the worker had a contract without a term and had never registered disciplinary background. Still, the company advanced with the most severe measure by concluding that there was a breach of confidence and abuse in the use of internal tools.
The sentence of the Madrid Superior Court now confirms the company’s position, after the collaborator appealed to the Court to contest the dismissal.
As the case occurred
The facts date back to July 2023. Out of working hours and from home, the employee has accessed digital coupons belonging to customers, obtained through the Automation Marketing Department where she worked.
With five of these coupons, three from 500 euros, one from 200 and another 50, paid much of an online purchase on the El Corte Inglés website, purchasing two iPhones valued at 1,798 euros.
Annulment attempt
The next day, the collaborator annulled the purchase. However, the used coupons were unused and could not be reused by the customers to whom they belonged.
It was only in September that the situation came to public, when one of the beneficiaries tried to use the discount and realized that it had already been spent.
Faced with the complaint, the company started an internal investigation that allowed the plaintiff to identify, as the payment had been made with her personal account.
The defense of the employee
In the process, the worker claimed that she had used the coupons “by error”, justifying that she would only be testing the promotion system to check possible failures.
He said that when he realized the succeeded, he annulled the operation and never intended to cause damage to the company or customers.
He also argued that in more than two decades of career, he has always maintained an untouchable professional record.
The company’s position
For the direction of El Corte Inglés, the attitude represented a serious breach of contractual good faith.
The use of data and benefits for clients was considered an abuse of trust, classified as a very serious lack under the collective contract of travel agencies and article 54 of the Workers Statute.
Thus, the company advanced with the immediate dismissal, considering impossible to maintain the work relationship.
The Court of Court
JUZGADO DE LO SOCIAL No. 14 in Madrid was the first to pronounce, validating the company’s decision and rejecting the employee’s defense. Later, the Madrid Superior Court confirmed the sentence, stressing that the behavior was deliberated and covered.
Judges concluded that repentance manifested after annulment of purchase did not eliminate the severity of the conduct.
According to the decision, it is not necessary to prove that there was direct economic loss to justify the dismissal. It is sufficient to prove the existence of unfair and contrary to the good faith between company and worker.
In the case concerned, and according to, the Court considered evident the intention to take an improper party of privileged access to internal tools, thus validating the applied disciplinary measure.
Also read:
