Court overturns whistleblower’s dismissal for reporting corrupt practices within the company
This publication analyses the ruling by the Social Court No. 11 of Seville, dated 14 May 2024, presided over by Judge Juan-Bosco Rite Zambrano, which declared a whistleblower’s dismissal null, deeming the termination of their contract as direct retaliation for reporting corrupt practices within the company.
The claimant, using the company’s compliance and ethical reporting channel, reported that their supervisor had been illicitly obtaining drafts of technical specifications before their official publication, giving an unfair competitive edge in public contract awards. Despite claiming organisational and productive reasons for the dismissal, the company took no action against the accused supervisor, arguing a lack of conclusive evidence. The court found that the claimant’s dismissal was directly linked to their whistleblowing, thereby violating their protection against retaliation, enshrined in Article 24.1 of the Spanish Constitution, Directive 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and Council, and, at present, Law 2/2023 on the Protection of Whistleblowers (Ley 2/2023 de Protección a las Personas Informantes).
The judge determined that, although the report was submitted anonymously, the internal investigator accessed information that identified the whistleblower, which led to their dismissal. The court characterised this as retaliatory, nullifying it under Article 55.5 of the Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores). It also highlighted the company’s failure to convincingly justify the cited organisational reasons for the dismissal, as required by Article 52.c of the Statute, which further strengthened the nullification decision.
As a result, the Social Court ordered the worker’s immediate reinstatement, along with payment of outstanding wages and €15,000 in compensation for moral damages. The judge deemed it necessary to double the standard compensation amount, not only to adequately address the moral harm inflicted but also to deter future violations of workers’ fundamental rights, as outlined in Directive 2019/1937. While Law 2/2023, which transposes the Directive into Spanish law, was not in force at the time, the expired transposition period necessitated protection in line with European regulations.