The story of a woman who took sick leave for anxiety and ended up being dismissed justifiably has come to light. The woman broke the rules and attended a hiking course in the Picos de Europa, citing work-related anxiety. The mountain getaway brought her into conflict with the Spanish courts and her employer, resulting in an unfavorable court ruling.
The protagonist of this story worked as a pharmacy technician
According to reports, the story began more than one year ago. The protagonist of this story worked as a pharmacy technician from March 2007 to April 2023, when she was fired for missing three consecutive days of work without just cause. However, a procedural error forced the Court to overturn the dismissal, and she returned to her job in November of the same year. A month after her reinstatement, the worker requested three days off to attend exams for the Initial Intermediate Level Hiking Course she was enrolled in, a permit that was granted.
They discovered that the pharmaceutical had used the sick leave to go on a hiking trip
The story continues, because in December of that year, the employee requested sick leave, a temporary disability for which she had to go to a health center for anxiety and stress in 2024. With this sick leave, the company began to have suspicions and discovered that the pharmaceutical had used the sick leave to go on a hiking trip through the Picos de Europa. This incident again resulted in a dismissal that was deemed justified, as the employee violated the rules of her employment contract.
The women had been hiking and living in a van
Many companies experience similar cases, which is why extreme measures are sometimes taken, as in the case of this employee. The company, suspecting the illegality of its employee’s actions, hired a private detective and discovered that the pharmacist was indeed in the mountains. The woman had been on medical leave for five days, a mountaineering course in Ojedo (Spain), living in a van and exercising in the mountains. “The company has been able to verify that the reason for her leave was concealing her true intention, which is to continuously complete an in-person and online academic course, with internships for several months,” the company stated in the termination letter.
The Court declared the dismissal justified
The story didn’t end happily, as the employee’s disloyalty and bad faith unfortunately led to the case being brought before the Palencia Labor Court No. 1, which declared the dismissal justified and dismissed the pharmacy technician’s claims and appeals. This incident highlighted the employee’s malpractice and, at the same time, the lengths a person will go to live outside the established law.
Although people should be free to decide how to act, where to live, and what to do, it’s inevitable that any act we do has consequences. In this case, the consequences for the worker were terrible, although from another perspective, perhaps life had put her in her place and the just dismissal was just what she needed. What is clear is that these types of acts later affect other people, and the innocent end up paying for the guilty; that’s where we should set the bar. Not everyone is bad, and obviously, not everyone is entirely honest.
