A driver suffered a heart attack during an international trip and, even after receiving discharge, was forced by the company to remain behind the wheel for more than 600 kilometers. The case eventually ended in court, raising questions about the limits of employer action and the protection of workers’ health.
The driver had been hired in 2021 by a transport company through a temporary contract due to production circumstances. That same year, during a service in Germany, he felt bad and suffered a heart attack that required hospitalization.
After the discharge, and although he is already officially low, he was forced to drive to France, still seeing his return to Spain postponed by the company. Shortly thereafter, he was dismissed from his duties and taken from Social Security, says the Digital Journal Spanish Noticias Work.
First Decision in Alicante
Without agreement in the conciliation phase, the worker decided to bring the case to court. The judgment of Social Nº 1 of Alicante eventually gave him reason, considering that there was no valid termination of the contract, but an irregular dismissal.
The sentence ordered the driver’s reinstatement “under the same conditions that governed before the dismissal” and ordered the company to pay for the processing wages, 30 thousand euros for moral damages and 2,934 euros in diets and delayed remuneration, according to the same source.
Company appeal
The company, disagreeing with the decision, filed an appeal to the Valencian Community Superior of Justice. He argued that there was no dismissal, but only the natural expiry of a temporary contract due to the circumstances of production. He also added that the simple fact that the worker is in low medical could not be considered as a situation of discrimination.
Right to physical integrity
The magistrates, however, concluded that the company endangered the driver’s health by forcing him to drive long distances and deliver even after the heart attack and being low. For the Court, according to the conduct, it represented a violation of the fundamental right to physical integrity, enshrined in article 15 of the Spanish Constitution.
Thus, the nullity of the dismissal of this driver who suffered a trip on the trip was confirmed. The company will have to readmit the driver at its post and pay the compensation set in the first instance of 30 thousand euros.
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