A regional high court in Spain has declared the dismissal of a pregnant assistant waitress null while overturning a 7,501 euro moral damages payout.
The High Court of Justice of Castile and Leon ratified the lower court finding that the termination was invalid, requiring the hospitality employer to reinstate the worker.
However, the regional court ruled in favor of the hospitality company regarding financial compensation, removing the extra monetary penalty previously awarded to the employee.
Dismissal grounds and employment history
The legal dispute involved a hospitality company and a worker who began serving as an assistant waitress on May 12, 2025, earning a gross monthly salary of 1,515 euros.
The company terminated her contract on September 28, 2025, alleging a continuous decline in work performance, mobile phone use during working hours, conversations with customers and friends that interfered with her duties, and alcohol consumption during service.
Although the employer acknowledged in the dismissal letter that the firing was unfair, none of the alleged misconduct grounds were proven during trial.
First instance social court ruling
In March 2026, a Spanish social court declared the dismissal null after finding it proven that the employee was pregnant at the time of her termination.
The initial court ruling ordered her reinstatement and additionally awarded her 7,501 euros in compensation for moral damages stemming from the dismissal.
Social courts in Spain handle initial employment claims, including disputes over unfair dismissal, severance, workplace rights, and statutory labor protections.
Under Spanish labor law, an unfair dismissal allows employers to choose between paying severance or reinstating staff, whereas a null dismissal automatically mandates reinstatement with full back pay.
Automatic protection under Spanish labor law
The company appealed the ruling to the regional high court, arguing that there were no indications of pregnancy discrimination and claiming that the employee had not proven she was pregnant at the time of firing.
The High Court of Justice rejected that argument, pointing out that the lower court had already established the pregnancy as an uncontested fact during the original trial.
The court noted that the key legal issue was not whether the employer knew of the condition, but whether the statutory protection applied automatically under national labor regulations.
Under Article 55.5 of Spain's Workers' Statute, the dismissal of a pregnant employee is null by law from the start of gestation until the beginning of maternity leave.
The statutory rule applies even if the employer was completely unaware of the pregnancy when issuing the dismissal, unless the business can prove valid grounds entirely unrelated to the pregnancy.
The Workers' Statute serves as the primary legislation governing employment contracts, worker rights, and termination rules across all commercial sectors in Spain.
Reasoning behind the moral damages removal
Despite confirming that the dismissal was null, the high court ruled in favor of the employer regarding the 7,501 euro moral damages award.
The tribunal explained that financial compensation for moral damages requires an established violation of fundamental constitutional rights, rather than solely objective statutory protections.
Because the court found no evidence of deliberate discriminatory intent by the employer, the dismissal was null strictly due to automatic objective protection under labor legislation.
Consequently, the court determined that Article 183 of the Law Regulating Social Jurisdiction, which governs additional moral damages payouts, did not apply to this case.
The Law Regulating Social Jurisdiction sets out procedural rules for Spanish labor courts and defines when financial compensation can be granted alongside workplace reinstatements.
Court verdict and appeal process
With this decision, the High Court of Justice of Castile and Leon partially upheld the employer's appeal by maintaining the nullity of the dismissal and the reinstatement order, while setting aside the moral damages payout.
The court made no order regarding legal costs, leaving all other elements of the lower court judgment unchanged.
The ruling, issued on July 23, 2026, is not yet final and remains subject to potential further legal challenges.
The employer or employee may file an appeal in cassation for the unification of doctrine before the Supreme Court of Spain.
Any such appeal must be formally prepared within ten days of receiving official notification of the regional court's judgment.
Appeals for the unification of doctrine allow the Supreme Court to resolve conflicting rulings between different regional courts and ensure uniform application of national employment laws.
