In 2024, a labor dispute arose in Zaragoza, Spain, after an employee pocketed a customer’s lost property. A female employee, who had worked at an Alcampo supermarket for nearly 19 years, faced disciplinary dismissal for taking 195 euros from a customer’s wallet. After hearings in multiple courts, the judiciary ultimately ruled that a long tenure does not grant immunity from violating the principle of good faith, completely rejecting the employee’s claims.
The Incident: A Lost Wallet and Missing Cash
On July 3, 2024, a customer shopping at the Alcampo supermarket in Zaragoza accidentally left their wallet in a box at the checkout area. Upon discovering it, the female employee secretly removed the 195 euros in cash and transferred it to the cash register drawer. Later, she returned the emptied wallet to the owner, falsely claiming she had merely ‘found the wallet’.
Unable to locate the missing cash, the customer reported the incident to the local police a few days later. The police subsequently requested the supermarket’s CCTV footage from the time of the incident, which clearly and fully captured the employee’s entire process of taking the cash. Confronted with the irrefutable video evidence, the employee changed her story on July 8, 2024, claiming she found the money under the box. However, this excuse clearly contradicted the surveillance footage, forcing her to eventually admit to the theft and apologize to the customer.
Disciplinary Dismissal: Broken Trust Leads to Zero Compensation
Following the police investigation and conclusive video evidence, Alcampo swiftly initiated internal disciplinary procedures. On July 31, 2024, the company issued a formal disciplinary dismissal notice to the involved employee. In the notice, the management explicitly stated that the employee’s embezzlement of the customer’s cash and subsequent fabrication of lies to cover up the truth had severely destroyed the fundamental trust and good faith established between the employer and the employee.
Because the decision was classified as a lawful disciplinary dismissal, under relevant Spanish labor laws, this veteran employee—who joined in April 2005 and had nearly 19 years of continuous service—lost her eligibility for severance pay, receiving exactly 0 euros in compensation.
Judicial Ruling: Appeal Dismissed and Additional Fine Imposed
Dissatisfied with the dismissal, the employee sued the supermarket in the Social Court No. 7 of Zaragoza, but her claim was rejected in the first instance. She then appealed the case to the High Court of Justice of Aragon (TSJ Aragón). During the trial, the plaintiff attempted to use her nearly 19-year employment history as a mitigating factor.
In its final judgment, the High Court of Justice of Aragon chose to uphold the employer’s decision. The judge emphasized in the ruling that the nature of the employee’s action—pocketing 195 euros and attempting a cover-up—was highly egregious. Her long employment relationship was insufficient to offset the severity of the act itself, nor could it serve as an ‘umbrella’ for violating fundamental obligations of good faith. Furthermore, given that the plaintiff persisted in appealing despite the conclusive facts, the court determined her litigation conduct to be procedurally malicious and reckless, imposing an additional judicial fine of 600 euros.
