Court Rules Dismissal of Securitas Direct Employee During Sick Leave Unlawful. In Cantabria, a court overturned the disciplinary dismissal of a Securitas Direct employee who was on sick leave after a workplace injury. The employer must reinstate the worker, pay back wages for the forced absence, and compensate for moral damages.
A Securitas Direct employee was dismissed while on sick leave following a workplace accident. The company attempted to notify him of his disciplinary dismissal by letter, which the employee never received, and later by email, which lacked a clear explanation of the reasons for the contract termination. This ambiguity in communication became a key argument in the subsequent court proceedings.
Before going to court, the employee tried to resolve the conflict through ORECLA — the regional body for extrajudicial labor dispute resolution. However, the company did not attend the hearing, and the dispute proceeded to trial.
Court decisions
The case was first reviewed by the Labor Court in Santander, where the dismissal was ruled unlawful: the company failed to prove any disciplinary grounds, and the notification procedure was violated. Securitas Direct was ordered either to reinstate the employee or pay him compensation of just over €3,000. However, the employee did not agree with this decision and filed an appeal.
At the appellate stage — in the Supreme Court of Cantabria — the case took a new turn. The judges concluded that the true cause of the dismissal was the employee’s temporary incapacity, resulting from the workplace injury. The court found this violated his right to equality and non-discrimination as guaranteed by Spanish law.
Discrimination based on health status
The court referred to the provisions of Law 15/2022 and Article 55.5 of the Workers' Statute, emphasizing: if the employer cannot prove an objective and reasonable cause for dismissal, and the decision is related to illness or injury, it constitutes discrimination. In this case, Securitas Direct failed to convincingly justify its actions.
As a result, the court declared the dismissal invalid and ordered the company to reinstate the employee in their previous position, pay them the salary for the entire period of forced absence, and also compensate moral damages in the amount of €7,501. As mentioned in the ruling, this sum is not only compensatory but also preventive, to ensure that employers do not abuse their position.
Consequences and significance of the decision
The court's decision can still be appealed to the Supreme Court of Spain, but already sets an important precedent for the labor market: dismissal due to temporary incapacity for work, even if framed as disciplinary, can be considered discriminatory and unlawful.
For companies, this is a signal: any actions regarding employees on sick leave must be as transparent and legally justified as possible. For employees, it confirms that anti-discrimination protections truly work in practice.
Issues of labor guarantees and employee support remain relevant in Spain. For example, Madrid authorities recently launched a subsidy program for employers hiring young professionals — you can learn more about this in the article on new employment support measures in the capital.
