The Supreme Court declares illegal the photos taken by a detective of a Galician man on leave while working in his garden

The Workers’ Council of the Supreme Court considered illegal photos taken by a private detective carried out on the worker, who was on sick leave due to neck pain, works hard work in the garden and in the orchard of his houseand what they were used by the company agree yours disciplinary dismissal, i.e. without compensation, for performing activities incompatible with their illnesses. This is reflected in the sentence known this Friday, in which the room affirms the verdict against unfair dismissal he betrayed the worker High Court of Justice of Galicia (TSJG) of January 17, 2022, rejecting the appeal filed by a company from Pontevedres Wastewater Treatment Company FIG

The judges think it is taking photos violated the worker’s right to privacy, which makes the test illegal. It also imposes 1,500 euros in costs on the company, along with the loss of the appeal deposit.

As explained on the 12 pages of the decision, the Chamber understands that the home garden is “a space that must be included in the concept of a worker’s home or, at least, in the concept of other reserved places that only you can enter. with the consent of the owner”, or, except in cases of “in flagrante delicto”, by a court decision. For this reason, he emphasizes that, since it is an intimate, personal and family residential space, into which third parties cannot enter against the will of the owner, the stated “legitimate expectation of privacy” also applies to the garden, even if it is intensely minor.

Prohibited by the norm that regulates the work of detectives

Punishment Reporter, magistrate Ignacio García-PerroteLet us remind you that the regulations governing the work of private detectives “expressly exclude” that they can conduct inquiries that “take place in homes or in reserved places”.

He the worker was cleaner and worked at Sociedad Tratamiento de Aguas Residuales since 1999. When the pandemic broke out in 2020, the prevention service declared the employee a vulnerable person to the coronavirus, which is why the company advised extreme caution and prevention measures, such as remote work, work at a distance of more than two meters, etc. people or the use of FFP2 masks. Days after this recommendation, the worker took a leave of absence from work due to temporary incapacity with a diagnosis of neck pain, that is, pain in the neck area.

two months later -reminds the judgement-, the company gave him disciplinary dismissal which recorded the actions of the employee that the company considered incompatible with the illnesses that caused his absence from work and that made it difficult for him to heal.

Efforts of several hours over seven days

Specifically, it was performed several times (at least seven days and in days of several hours) hard work in the garden and orchard of his houseusing a shovel and rake to prepare the ground, paint the roof of the neighbor’s building, and garden fountains, masonry work on the garden wall for which he manipulated tools, crouched and forced positions, performed work on metal fences, and collected waste, as indicated in the proven facts.

AND The social court of Pontevedra declared the dismissal permissible workers, but The Supreme Court of Justice of Galicia considered it inadmissible since it is just a test on which it was based was the detective’s report, with photographs of him in the garden of his house, which violated his right to privacy, and moreover, it was a disproportionate measure. The Supreme Court agrees with the criteria of the disputed sentence and confirms the unfairness of the dismissal of this worker.