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The High Court of Justice of Murcia, Spain, has ruled the dismissal of an agricultural worker unlawful after he was fired for allegedly making personal calls to Morocco worth more than €550 using a company phone and for reportedly threatening the company’s human resources manager.
The court has mandated that the company either reinstate the worker or compensate him with 7,283.23 euros. The decision was based on the finding that the dismissal letter contained «general accusations» with no specific details or dates, effectively denying the worker the opportunity to defend himself.
Employed by the company since April 2017, the worker had agreed in 2020 to use the company phone solely for business purposes. Despite this, between March and September 2022, he made personal calls to Morocco, incurring a cost of 557.24 euros.
In response, the company issued three disciplinary notices on September 13 and 14, 2022, which included a temporary suspension and ultimately led to his dismissal on grounds of «breach of trust,» «verbal abuse,» and «decline in professional performance.»
Challenging his dismissal, the worker turned to the judiciary, where the Social Court No. 7 in Murcia ruled in his favor, noting that the dismissal letter lacked the necessary specifics to allow for an effective defense.
The company appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of Justice in Murcia. However, the court dismissed all of the company's arguments, reiterating that Spanish labor law requires dismissal letters to be explicit and detailed, with clear specification of facts and dates.
