Arriving at work too early can be grounds for dismissal. This is what a Spanish woman discovered when she was fired for repeatedly ignoring her employer's warnings about her early arrival. The woman, who worked for a delivery company based in Alicante, was used to arriving at her workplace between 6:45 and 7:00 a.m., even though her contract stipulated that her workday began at 7:30 a.m. This meant she started her shift before her colleagues, which annoyed her manager. She was first reprimanded for her habit in 2023, but she continued to arrive early, ignoring the veiled threats from management. Earlier this year, her manager decided to fire her for «serious misconduct», arguing that her early arrival meant she was not required to perform any tasks and therefore did not contribute to the company. Disagreeing with the decision, the woman took the case to court. To her surprise, the court in Alicante sided with her employer, arguing that her repeated disregard for warnings had negatively affected the working relationship between them. The court ruling stated: «The worker's conduct affected the relationship of trust and loyalty, which was significantly affected, because despite the company's warnings, the complainant insisted on entering before time». In the end, the court found that the attributed behavior was serious enough to constitute «serious misconduct», including «breach of trust and disobedience», which justifies the termination of the employment relationship.
