Woman Fired for Arriving 40 Minutes Early to Work... Why Did the Court Rule It Was Justified?

Repeated Early Arrivals Despite Multiple Warnings from Company
Spanish Court: "Failure to Follow Work Rules Was Wrong"

In Spain, a woman in her twenties was fired for "arriving at work too early." The company repeatedly demanded that she follow the work rules, but she failed to comply. Ultimately, the court sided with the company.

A woman in Spain was fired for repeatedly arriving early to work against her boss's instructions. Pixabay

According to The Sun, a British media outlet, on December 9 (local time), a 22-year-old female employee, referred to as Ms. A, who worked at a company in Spain, was instructed by her manager not to arrive or begin work before the contractual start time of 7:30 a.m. However, she failed to follow this directive and was dismissed for "serious misconduct."

Ms. A typically arrived at the company between 6:45 and 7:00 a.m., which is about 40 minutes earlier than her official start time.

Despite receiving multiple instructions from her supervisor not to arrive early, she continued to disregard them. The company determined that her early arrivals did not contribute to actual work and instead disrupted office operations. One colleague even claimed that Ms. A "disrupted team coordination."

This woman, who worked in the logistics department, filed a lawsuit with the Alicante court in the Valencia region, claiming her dismissal was unfair.

The court pointed out that Ms. A had repeated the same behavior despite several written and verbal warnings. It was confirmed that she arrived early an additional 19 times even after being reprimanded by her supervisor.

Additionally, Ms. A was found to have violated internal regulations by attempting to log in to work through the company application before her official start time. Separately, there were allegations that she sold a company-owned used vehicle without a battery and without her superior's approval. The court considered this a breach of trust.

The court ruled that the company's dismissal was justified. However, it clarified that the issue was not the "excessively early arrival" itself, but rather her attitude of disregarding the work rules. This constitutes a serious violation under Article 54 of the Spanish Workers' Statute.

Employment experts explained that companies can take strict action when clearly defined company policies are violated.

However, there remains the possibility that Ms. A may appeal to the Supreme Court of Valencia.

This court ruling has sparked confusion online. Some users criticized, saying, "They get mad if you're late, and now they get mad if you're early," while another commented, "I've never heard of someone being fired for arriving early. At my company, they'd build a statue in her honor."