Big-money brewski: Store employee earns nearly $60,000 from break-time beer
A grocery store has been ordered to pay a former employee a significant compensation check over a can of beer.
A grocery store chain has been hit with a five-figure compensation bill after it fired an employee who drank a beer during her work break.
The Spanish store, Mercadona, claims the employee jeopardized workplace safety - but a Madrid court has now ruled the dismissal as unfair.
What happened?
The employee, who had been with the company for 23 years, decided to buy a sandwich and a 16.9-ounce can of beer during her break. The store manager then followed her and observed her consuming the snack and beer in her car.
When the worker resumed her shift, he summoned her to his office, where she signed a document acknowledging she had consumed alcohol during work hours. After her shift, the manager then informed her that she was being dismissed.
Mercadona considered her guilty of a major workplace offense as she was employed in the store’s ready-to-eat food section, where she handled tools like knives and fryers. Days later, she received a formal disciplinary dismissal letter.
Mercadona argued that its internal regulations prohibit alcohol consumption during work hours. The employee felt she had been fired unfairly and sought to resolve the matter through an administrative-reconciliation process.
When that failed, she took the case to court, which ultimately sided with her.
Store claimed employee’s break-time beer a “very serious” offense
Mercadona’s collective agreement categorizes employee offenses as minor, serious and very serious. The company argued that she was guilty of the highest level of infringement.
One section in the store’s collective agreement categorizes a very serious offense as: “Coming to work or working under evident symptoms of alcohol or drug use, or showing such symptoms outside of work while wearing the company uniform.
“The same applies to possession and/or consumption of narcotics at the workplace, or when such behaviors become habitual and negatively impact job performance, posing a serious risk to the worker’s or others' safety.”
According to Spain’s workers' statute, meanwhile, employees may be considered to have breached their employment contract for “drunkenness or drug addiction if they negatively affect work.”
The court found that Mercadona could not prove the employee was intoxicated or that it affected her work.
Store made to pay for “disproportionate” firing
Having ruled in favor of the employee, the court ordered Mercadona to reinstate her or pay her €55,000 ($56,500) in compensation. The company then appealed the decision, but the initial ruling was upheld.
“The judges noted that she was allowed to finish her shift without any issues, and only after that was she dismissed,” explains @laboral_tips, a TikTok content creator and employment lawyer. “Clearly, her dismissal was disproportionate.”
Article originally written in Spanish, before being translated with the assistance of AI, and edited by William Allen.
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