We go back to September 2020, when a worker from the electric energy company who had been working as a sales manager there for a year before, went on sick leave due to temporary disability with a diagnosis of anxiety states, in addition to suffering from heart disease.
Afterwards, another employee realized that the first had been uploading photographs to his networks of being at different biker rallies and routes, in addition to teaching some trail initiation courses, which is why the company decided to fire him for disciplinary reasons on December 29. January 2021.
After a conciliation in which no agreement was reached, the dispute was taken to the courts which, in the first instance, ruled in favor of the worker. The company, relying on its right, decided to appeal and take it to the Superior Court of Justice of Galicia, which has now issued a ruling that supports it and that has generated controversy.
After analyzing the entire situation, in which one party argued the inconsistency of even the fact that the worker was taking medications in which alcohol consumption and driving were contraindicated, the initial ruling was ratified, confirming that there were no grounds for dismissal. coming.
The company argued breach of contractual good faith and abuse of trust in the performance of work, in addition to the fact that initially the dismissal letter (and here is part of the key) was due to the heart disease he suffered. Therefore, although the company later wanted to change this point, the court accepts and judges this fact.
It is the company that must prove that the activity being down undermined the recovery
But there is more and it says that it is the company that must prove that these activities were detrimental to recovery, or that it was simulating the disease. Furthermore, since these are symptoms of anxiety about sharing spaces with people after COVID, the sentence literally states: “We must keep in mind that the actor's diagnosis is anxiety, which has its origin – as happened with many other people – in the fear of covid, and possible contagion, with stress from being in closed spaces or going out on the street. because he is a risk patient, having a history of ischemic heart disease. This anxiety takes shape in the risk of meeting other people, which is more than feasible in closed spaces and on the street (understood in the population center), but less feasible in open spaces such as those in which events take place. camping and biker routes in which the actor participated.”
Therefore, it was finally rejected and ruled against the company, which must also bear the costs of the proceedings. Although the possibility of appeal was opened.
