Recently, a pharmaceutical company in Spain has attracted public attention due to the following story. It all began when, while on sick leave for anxiety, the employee went to the Ojedo mountains, located in the Picos de Europa, and because of this trip, it was decided to carry out a disciplinary dismissal. This case reached the labor court in Palencia, and in fact, Francisco Trujillo stated that during sick leave, employees cannot engage in activities outside of this situation. Keep reading to learn more about this story.
Medical leave for anxiety
Back in December, the worker started a medical leave for temporary incapacity, visiting a mental health clinic in 2024. She was diagnosed with anxiety symptoms, disrupted sleep, low mood, and fatigue. Nevertheless, her employer found she had used this leave to hike the Picos de Europa, a mountain range in located in the northern Spain. This prompted another disciplinary dismissal for violating company trust and contractual rules.
Investigation showed hiking course
Suspicious of her activities, the company employed a private detective who discovered that the worker had spent five days during her medical leave going on a mountaineering course in Ojedo.
She was staying in a van and performed physically demanding activities in the mountains. The employer explained in the termination letter:
“The company has verified that the stated reason for her leave concealed her true intention: to pursue an ongoing academic course with both in-person and online components over several months.”
Court upholds dismissal
The case was brought before the Labor Court of Palencia No. 1. The court ruled that the dismissal was lawful, rejecting all claims and appeals from the pharmacy technician. She was not permitted to go back to her former position. The ruling, shared by labor law professor Francisco Trujillo, stated that hiking during a medical leave for anxiety did not make the dismissal unlawful.
Other Spanish cases: dismissal of a worker during “sick leave”
The High Court of Justice of the Basque Country has upheld the decision of Bilbao Labor Court No. 9, which ruled that the disciplinary dismissal of a worker who, while on sick leave for a shoulder injury, gave boxing lessons “with constant involvement of the injured joint” was justified.
The man worked for the company Industria de Turbopropulsores S.A.U. (IPT) and had been working as a first officer since December 2017, with a salary of around €3,500 per month. The controversy arose after his disciplinary dismissal in January 2024, accused of having breached contractual good faith by carrying out activities incompatible with the sick leave he had been on since May of the previous year.
The worker had been declared temporarily incapacitated due to an injury to his left shoulder on May 8, 2023. However, at the end of November, the company discovered that he was teaching boxing classes at a gym in Barakaldo.
On the 28th and 30th of that month, he was recorded leading hour-long sessions, during which he performed shadow boxing movements and gestures characteristic of the discipline, constantly involving his injured shoulder. In one of the recordings, he even admitted to a student that his shoulder was “shattered,” opting to use foam “churros” instead of mitts to cushion the impacts.
Simulation of illness
The company considered that these activities demonstrated not only that the worker was simulating his illness, but also that they were incompatible with the recovery process that justified his sick leave.
In the dismissal letter, dated January 11, 2024, IPT classified the events as very serious offenses under the Bizkaia iron and steel industry agreement and the Workers’ Statute, on the grounds that there had been feigned illness and abuse of trust. For the company, teaching physical classes while on temporary disability constituted a serious and deliberate breach of his employment obligations.
