She gives three sandwiches to some friends at work, the company fires her, and the court rules it a fair dismissal due to a “breach of trust”
The High Court of Justice of Madrid has upheld a company’s decision to terminate an employee, ruling that the worker committed a very serious offense by giving food to acquaintances without charging them.
An employee at Madrid’s Warner Theme Park was dismissed after handing out three sandwiches to some acquaintances without them paying for them. The incident occurred in the early hours of October 21, 2023, and was partially witnessed by the venue’s manager and the head chef, who observed the recipients of the food hiding in the storage area when they were caught.
The employee admitted to giving the food to friends during a conversation with her supervisor, and later confirmed the same version of events to another manager.
The company issued a dismissal letter. The employee, who had held a permanent seasonal position in the food service department since February 2020, was not a union representative nor affiliated with any labor union.
Legal challenge and court’s decision
The employee filed a preliminary conciliation request on January 9, 2024, but no settlement was reached. She then filed a lawsuit seeking to have the dismissal declared null due to a violation of fundamental rights or, alternatively, unfair. Among other arguments, she cited the lack of a prior disciplinary hearing.
She also questioned the proportionality of the sanction, referring to a prior case where a similar offense was met with a three-day suspension without pay.
In June 2024, Labor Court dismissed the claim in full, declaring the dismissal lawful and rejecting all of the employee’s demands. The worker then appealed the decision to the High Court of Justice of Madrid, which confirmed the lawfulness of the dismissal.
The judges held that the actions attributed to the employee constituted a serious breach of contractual good faith and were properly classified as a very serious offense.
In the court’s view, the employee’s conduct amounted to a breakdown of the trust the company had placed in her. Her later attempt to deny the events during legal proceedings only reinforced the rupture of that professional relationship.
The court also rejected claims that the disciplinary measure was disproportionate, concluding that the seriousness of the offense justified the company’s decision.
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