The Superior Court of Justice of La Rioja (TSJLR) ruled inadmissible the dismissal of a worker who he told a superior to “shit”.
The Social Chamber of the TSJLR criticizes that this expression is “unfortunate, crude and vulgar”but considers that having pronounced it only once, as a sign of “anger”does not deserve appropriate or disciplinary dismissal.
In this way, the Superior Court of Rioja revokes the judgment of the Social Court number 1 of Logroño, which ruled in favor of the company Manufacturas Edu Isasi SL.
In September 2023, the company dismissed the worker in a disciplinary manner, meaning it did not pay him any compensation. The employee took the company to court. And now, despite the Court ruling in favor of the employer, the TSJLR considers his dismissal to be unfair, which gives him the right to receive, if necessary, 14,836 euros.
According to the judgment, to which EL ESPAÑOL-Invertia had access, on September 20, 2023, the company delivered a letter of dismissal to the complainant.
In this document, the terms in which the worker, a factory worker, had addressed a superior, owner and partner of the factory, were described as “serious”.
“When you approached him today, without saying a word, you told him in a very violent, aggressive tone and shouting: “What are you looking at?! Fuck you”and to the surprise of [el dueño de la fábrica]as well as colleagues who were nearby, reiterated it again,” the letter reads.
“In view of this, [el superior] He retired to avoid bigger problems, because you were still very aggressive. In order to calm things down, the other partner, [nombre omitido]approached his workplace and asked him what was wrong, What if it was true that he sent his boss to hell?to which you reiterated the words, in an equally aggressive tone, saying, shouting and very aggressively: “Yes, I sent you to hell,” the letter ends.
From now on, the magistrates of the Social Chamber of the TSJLR consider that, despite the crudeness of their remarks, they do not deserve to be punished with the maximum workplace sanction: disciplinary dismissal. And besides, he only did it once.
“Although the complainant used the unfortunate, crude and vulgar expression that we indicated, This is only the first time that its use is tinged with a contemptuous tone and offensive to his bosssince the second time he declared it, the worker limited himself to answering the question asked by the other partner of the company, expressly recognizing the act committed, but without directing the said act a second time shine towards his interlocutor or towards his brother. , also owner of the company”, justifies the sentence.
Likewise, the TSJ Rioja reflects the meaning contained in the Dictionary of the Royal Academy of Spanish Language (DRAE) on this expression. “This means telling people to go for a walk, which, according to this same manual, constitutes a language trick to express discontent, anger or rejection,” the resolution states.
“Despite the absolutely inappropriate and reprehensible nature of the worker’s behavior, in the opinion of the Chamber, the manner in which he addressed his hierarchical superior, in an undeniably rude and vulgar manner, This is not serious enough to merit the harshest penalties provided by our legal system.“, concludes the court.
“In accordance with the gradualist doctrine, the seriousness of the fault committed is mitigated by attention paid to the real meaning of what the worker has committed. —We insist, using incorrect, disrespectful and impertinent terms— verbally conveyed to his boss, which, ultimately, was nothing more than his anger, disagreement and rejection at the supervision of his work, by whom, at that time, he acted in the regular exercise of the functions inherent to the power of business management”, ends the sentence.
