He goes to the gym during working hours, gets fired, and the court ends up ordering him to pay $22,700 for the private detective

In the US, most employees work under “at-will” agreements – meaning they can be fired for almost any reason, or none at all, as long as it’s not discriminatory or retaliatory. That includes being let go for running errands during the workday, even if you’re remote and getting your job done. Unless you have a contract or union protections, your boss doesn’t need to justify the decision.

Monitoring is also broadly legal. Employers are allowed to track productivity, monitor internet use, or even install time-tracking software – particularly on company devices. In general, if you’re on the clock, personal activities can put your job at risk.

Making work time personal

But not everywhere draws the line the same way. A recent ruling in Spain – and a separate case in Germany – reveal how drastically the rules can change depending on the country.

According to Madrid’s High Court of Justice, a company cannot sanction a remote worker for running personal errands during working hours – as long as the employee is meeting job expectations. That was the conclusion in a recent ruling that deemed the dismissal of a sales representative unlawful after he was fired for dropping off and picking up his daughter from school, playing padel, and even meeting friends for drinks during the workday.

But that protection doesn’t always apply – and certainly not across borders. In Cologne, Germany, a 55-year-old public transport ticket inspector has just been dismissed after using 26 hours of work time to go to the hairdresser and the gym. The man, who was also a member of the company’s works council, became the subject of an internal investigation after his employer grew suspicious. The company hired a private detective who documented the personal outings.

A serious breach of trust

The worker denied the accusations and called the covert surveillance unacceptable. He argued that the evidence was inadmissible and tried – unsuccessfully – to overturn the dismissal in court.

Judges ruled that the inspector had committed a serious breach of trust, pointing out that union-related hours should benefit all employees, not be used for private matters. The secret monitoring was deemed proportionate and lawful under Germany’s Federal Data Protection Act (Article 26), and the company had also correctly involved the works council before taking disciplinary action.

The court upheld the dismissal, citing a serious violation that justified immediate termination under Article 626 of the German Civil Code. To make matters worse for the employee, he has been ordered to reimburse the company €21,000 ($22,700) to cover the cost of the detective agency.

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