Employee sacked for having sex at work must be reinstated or compensated
The High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) has ruled that a worker who was caught having sex on company premises should not have been sacked, declaring his dismissal “unfair” and ordering his reinstatement or compensation.
The case involves an employee of Valoriza Servicios Medioambientales S.A., who was dismissed after being found naked with a woman, who wasn’t employed by the company, inside a small maintenance room, outside of his working hours.
According to the ruling, the employee had worked for the company since April 2018. On 26th July, a colleague entered the room and discovered him “completely naked” with a woman “hiding behind the door.” The company immediately launched disciplinary proceedings and fired him the next day, claiming a “very serious breach of trust”.
Court: No Real Harm to the Company
The company argued that the presence of an unauthorised person on company property, even after hours, amounted to a serious violation of contractual obligations.
However, the Social Chamber of the TSJC, disagreed. The judges concluded that the incident did not cause any actual harm or damage to the company and that such behaviour, while inappropriate, did not reach the level of a “very serious” offence justifying dismissal.
The court clarified that the act could be considered a “serious” or “minor” internal infraction, suitable for internal disciplinary measures, but not severe enough to warrant termination.
“There is no proven intrinsic gravity in the contractual breaches cited in the dismissal letter,” the ruling states.
Worker Must Be Reinstated or Compensated
As a result, the TSJC has overturned the initial decision of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Labour Court, which had supported the dismissal. The company must now either reinstate the employee or compensate him with €9,174 for unfair dismissal.
The judgment serves as a clear warning to employers and HR departments: private conduct outside working hours, even if it occurs on company premises, cannot justify dismissal unless it demonstrably harms the business or its interests.
In short, the court’s message is clear: discipline, yes, but dismissal, no.
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