Asturias Court Upholds Dismissal of Waitress for Unrecorded Sales and Cash Shortfall. A labor dispute in Lugones-Siero ended with a court ruling: the waitress lost her job due to regular unrecorded sales and a cash shortfall of nearly 200 euros. The court found the dismissal lawful, despite the employee's attempt to challenge the sanction.
In December 2024, a surprise cash audit was carried out at one of the establishments in Lugones-Siero, which revealed a significant discrepancy between the cash on hand and the officially recorded sales. The register showed almost 200 euros more in cash than recorded in the system, immediately raising suspicions among management.
An internal investigation launched after this incident quickly uncovered that, in the first half of December, one waitress carried out at least 11 transactions that were neither registered in the system nor accompanied by receipts. The unaccounted sales included coffee, water, beer and other items — for both staff and customers. According to the company, these were not accidental errors, but a repeated scheme that caused direct financial harm to the establishment.
Management decided to dismiss the employee, stating in the notice that her actions were systematic and deliberate, and violated mandatory work protocols. The employee tried to appeal the decision, claiming that this practice was allegedly informally permitted, and that the evidence provided by the employer was one-sided and had not undergone independent review. In addition, she claimed possible retaliation: a few hours before the dismissal notice, the company had received an official request from her to terminate her employment contract due to violations committed by the employer.
However, the court did not accept these arguments. The decision notes that the violations were recorded before the employee filed the complaint, and there was no evidence of a link between the dismissal and her appeal. The court emphasized that to recognize the dismissal as lawful, it is sufficient to establish a breach of good faith and loyalty, even if the amount of damage is insignificant. As a result, the dismissal was deemed justified, and the claim for reinstatement was denied.
Notably, two more employees, also found guilty of similar violations after an internal review and audit, were dismissed along with this worker. Such court decisions are not uncommon: previously, for example, a court denied a pension to a plumber from the Canary Islands, despite serious injuries, illustrating the strict approach to labor disputes in Spain (details on a similar case).
This case highlights that even minor but systematic breaches of labor discipline can lead to the most severe sanctions, and courts in Spain increasingly support employers when there is documented evidence.
