A painter from the Barcelona area was dismissed days after returning to work from more than a year of medical leave and vacation because he failed to use his employer’s time-tracking system. On May 14, 2026, the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Cataluña (TSJ) ruled the dismissal unfair and ordered the company to reinstate him or pay €42,671.66 in compensation.
Registered as STSJ CAT 3824/2026, the case turned on whether the company’s response matched the seriousness of the infraction.
Seven Days Without Clocking In
The employee had worked under a permanent contract as a first-class painter since 2001 and earned a gross monthly salary of €1,802.68. He returned to work on May 6, 2024, after a lengthy period of temporary incapacity followed by vacation. From his first day back through May 13, he attended work but did not use the time-registration system. On May 14, he recorded only his departure. The company argued that this was a deliberate breach of duty and dismissed him on disciplinary grounds.
At first, Social Court No. 2 of Mataró sided with the employer, recognizing only €739.98 in unpaid wages for May. The worker appealed, arguing that the punishment was disproportionate and that he had received no formal warnings about his conduct.
Court Finds Dismissal Disproportionate
The TSJ acknowledged that failing to clock in for seven consecutive days was serious, not an inadvertent oversight. But, the court found no evidence that the company had issued prior warnings or followed a progressive disciplinary process. Applying proportionality, the judges found immediate dismissal excessive without documented prior notice or sanctions.
The ruling requires the company to choose between reinstating the employee and paying the full compensation, also to his outstanding salary. The indemnity calculation accounted for his long tenure. The law stipulates 45 days’ pay per year of service before February 12, 2012, and 33 days per year thereafter, subject to statutory limits.
Legal Context and Broader Implications
Spanish law requires companies to keep daily records of employees’ working hours, as set out in Article 34.9 of the Workers’ Statute. Failure to comply can be grounds for disciplinary action, including dismissal, but the response must be proportionate and due process must be observed. The TSJ’s decision does not give workers license to ignore time-tracking rules; it makes clear that the most severe penalty must be justified by prior warnings and clear evidence of willful misconduct.
The court also rejected claims that the dismissal was discriminatory because of the worker’s prior medical leave. It found that the company’s stated reason was disciplinary, though not sufficiently substantiated to justify such a harsh outcome.
The case reflects wider debates about fairness in Spanish employment law, particularly for people returning from illness or an extended absence. Recent changes have made it easier for workers with shorter employment histories to access unemployment support, as detailed in this analysis of new subsidy rules for short-term workers.
