Company dismisses workers' representative after catching him on beach with his family during union hours

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The complainant challenged the decision on the grounds that his right to privacy had been violated

Susana Zamora

Tuesday, 13 January 2026, 10:19

A court in Vigo has ruled that a company was well within its rights to hire a private investigator to track a union representative, ultimately justifying his dismissal after he was spotted at a beach bar on company time.

According to the court, the company took proportionate measures on suspicion that the employee was using union time to carry out activities outside his role as a workers' representative.

The judge dismissed the claim against the company, in which the former employee said that he had always complied with his obligations and that the company had violated his right to privacy by subjecting him to surveillance by private detectives.

The judge said that the monitoring operation "was limited to the six days during which the company suspected that the announced absence was motivated by personal interests". He also ruled appropriate the employer's decision "to confirm whether the employee was using the union time-off allowance for activities related to his representative role", given that "no other measure could reasonably" verify that.

According to the ruling, consulted by SUR, the measure was "proportional", as it was not a "capricious" investigation ordered with the "aim of satisfying the employer's curiosity". Therefore, the measure complied with the requirements of "suitability, necessity and proportionality".

The ruling also notes that the evidence does not suggest the company intended to monitor the employee while he was performing his duties, since the surveillance was ordered on specific days to verify whether he was going to make irregular use of his allocated union time.

Furthermore, it notes that, while some of the surveillance was carried out near the worker's home, there is no image in the report showing said home.

The judge stated that, in cases involving union time-off, evidence collected by private detectives is generally regarded as valid.

According to the resolution, the employee was seen "in what appears to be a beach bar", where he "carried out private activities unrelated to his status as a workers' representative", even though those activities were carried out within working hours. He was accompanied by his family.

The ruling is not final, as an appeal can be lodged with the High Court of Justice of Galicia.