Doctor's appointment instead of customer visit – dismissal upheld, employer pays over €118,000

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90 minutes that suddenly qualify as a "scandal"

Sometimes it's not the big things that matter at work, but rather a small window of time. In Spain, one case involved just 90 minutes. An employee was in the hospital during this time—and his employer later used this as grounds for termination without notice. Merkur reports on the case.

The man was not a "shaky candidate." He had been working for an international dermocosmetics company based in Barcelona since 2003. For many years, everything apparently went so well that he was even honored for his performance, most recently in 2023. Then came the turning point: at the end of 2023, he was diagnosed with a serious liver and bile duct disease. Surgery, long recovery. In March 2024, he was back at work.

After the illness: trust gone, magnifying glass on

And that's where the story gets unpleasant. According to reports, after his return, the company began to monitor him extremely closely. It wasn't about having a clear conversation, but about control logic: work schedules, routes, times. A private investigator was even called in to check whether the employee was really working when he said he was.

The main accusation revolved around one morning: the system showed customer visits starting at 9:30 a.m., but in fact the man was at the hospital for 90 minutes. To the employer, this looked like "insufficient performance." The next day, the employee was also in a meeting lasting over 40 minutes, reported a total of eleven appointments, and submitted a meal receipt. Nevertheless, the company apparently formed a picture of declining performance, disciplinary problems, and disloyalty. A month later, the harshest step followed: termination without notice.

Court says: That's not enough for a red card

The employee fought back—and won. He was able to prove that the doctor's appointments had actually taken place. The Supreme Court of Galicia declared the dismissal invalid. The judges did not consider the breach of duty to be so serious that it warranted immediate dismissal. Another factor that played a role was that the man had a good track record over many years – and that the allegations were not backed up by strong, objective evidence.

In the end, the employee received severance pay of €118,256.51. This is not just a "minor setback" for the employer, it is a clear signal: anyone who takes extreme measures needs extremely good reasons.

What employees can take away from this

Even though this case comes from Spain, the lesson is pretty universal: if control suddenly takes over from trust after an illness, that's a warning sign. And if your boss makes a big deal out of small stuff, you should take a really close look at what's actually proven—and what's just interpretation.

How we assess this

This seems like a pattern that we unfortunately see all too often: as long as someone is functioning, they are "valuable." As soon as health issues arise, they become a risk—and then every deviation is blown out of proportion. A company that prefers to send out detectives rather than speak plainly after a serious diagnosis does not have "consistency," but a leadership problem. And in the end, it is not only inhumane, but also expensive.

Source: merkur.de