A worker from Asturias, Spain, has been fired after seriously damaging a company van in a car accident while driving under the influence of alcohol. Although the accident occurred outside normal working hours, the Asturias Superior Court of Justice ruled in favor of the company and confirmed the disciplinary dismissal, removing the right to compensation, according to .
The case involved an employee with around 20 years of service, who had worked as general manager since 2004. The worker challenged the dismissal in court and obtained a first favorable decision, which considered the dismissal unfounded and opened the door to compensation of more than 62 thousand euros.
However, the company appealed and the Superior Court of Justice of Asturias changed the initial understanding. For the judges, the worker’s conduct caused a serious breach of trust and justified the employer’s decision.
Accident happened after a specific task
The events occurred on a Friday afternoon, in October 2024. The worker had already finished his normal shift, but went to the company’s premises to open a gate and allow a third party to collect a machine.
The task was carried out because the usual surveillance team was unable to attend. Despite being a one-off trip, the employee used a company van, a Fiat Doblò, to make the journey.
The accident happened on the way home. According to AS, the worker collided with another driver’s car, causing extensive material damage to the company vehicle.
The seriousness of the case increased when authorities carried out a blood alcohol test. The driver had 0.53 milligrams of alcohol per liter of exhaled air, a value higher than the legal limit allowed in Spain.
After the accident, according to reports published in Spain, a blood test carried out at Jarrio Hospital confirmed a rate of 1.71 grams of alcohol per liter of blood.
This value was above the criminal threshold of 1.2 grams per liter provided for in article 379 of the Spanish Penal Code. The Spanish General Traffic Regulations set, as a rule, lower limits for driving under the influence of alcohol, both in blood and exhaled air.
Given these elements, the company moved forward with the disciplinary dismissal. The decision was based on abuse of trust, violation of contractual good faith and serious damage caused to the employer’s assets.
The worker took the case to court, claiming that the accident had occurred outside business hours. Initially, the Juzgado de lo Social de Avilés agreed with him and declared the dismissal unfounded. This decision forced the company to choose between reinstating the worker or paying compensation in excess of 62 thousand euros, in accordance with Spanish rules applicable to unfounded dismissal.
Superior court ruled in favor of the company
The company appealed the sentence and the Asturias Superior Court of Justice ended up validating the disciplinary dismissal.
The judges recognized that, outside working hours, the worker is not subject to the same obligations as during working time. Even so, they understood that this does not eliminate responsibility when the conduct causes direct damage to the company.
For the court, driving an employer’s vehicle under high alcohol intoxication and causing a serious accident constitutes a serious breach of the trust necessary for the employment relationship.
The decision highlights that the behavior was serious enough to justify the end of the relationship, even though it occurred outside the usual hours.
Breach of trust was decisive
According to AS, the court considered that the accident represented “conscious disloyalty” on the part of the worker, an expression used to justify the company’s loss of trust.
The seniority of the employee, who had worked at the company since 2004, was not enough to rule out the seriousness of the facts. The position of general manager also reinforced the relevance of the relationship of trust with the employer.
With the decision of the Superior Court of Justice of Asturias, the dismissal was considered valid. The worker lost his job and is no longer entitled to the compensation sought.
The processing wages that could have been due if the dismissal had been considered unfounded and the consequences provided for in Spanish law had also been excluded.
The central point of the process was the fact that the accident occurred outside business hours. The worker’s defense tried to use this argument to rule out the disciplinary sanction.
However, the court found that the use of a company vehicle and the damage caused to the employer’s property maintained a sufficient link with the employment relationship. Thus, despite the worker no longer being on his shift, the conduct had direct consequences for the company.
What if the case happened in Portugal?
In Portugal, a case of this type could also justify dismissal with just cause, but the decision would always depend on a concrete analysis of the facts. Article 351 of the CLT provides that there is just cause when there is culpable behavior on the part of the employee which, due to its severity and consequences, makes the maintenance of the employment relationship immediately and practically impossible.
Portuguese law also includes, among the examples of just cause, the damage to the company’s serious property interests and the culpable lack of compliance with safety and health rules at work. In a scenario where a worker drove a company vehicle under the influence of alcohol, caused an accident and caused material damage, the employer could argue that there had been a serious breach of trust.
Still, the fact that the accident occurred outside normal hours would not automatically resolve the case in favor of the worker or the company. The court would have to assess whether the conduct was linked to the employment relationship, whether the vehicle belonged to the employer, whether there was authorization to use it, the degree of fault, the function performed, the seniority and the damage caused.
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