Supreme Court declares a detective’s photographs of a worker unlawful

The Supreme Court confirms the unlawfulness of a dismissal based on a private detective’s report.

The Supreme Court has declared unlawful the photographs taken by a private detective of a worker while he was working in his garden, while he was on cervicalgia leave.

According to the court, the garden is part of the intimate, personal, and family life of the individual and cannot be invaded without his consent.

The Social Chamber of the Supreme Court has ratified the unfairness of the dismissal of the worker, since the only evidence presented was the detective’s report with photographs that violated his right to privacy.

This decision establishes that the dismissal based on photographs obtained in the garden of the employee’s home is unlawful, according to the Social Chamber of the High Court.

The worker, a cleaner, presented a temporary disability due to cervicalgia and, two months later, was disciplinarily dismissed based on a private detective’s report with photographs taken in his garden.

The judgment of the Supreme Court, appeal 2339/2022, dated May 25, 2023, determines that the photographs of the worker’s garden constitute an invasion of his privacy and cannot be used as evidence to support the dismissal. Both the Superior Court of Justice of Galicia and the Supreme Court have declared the dismissal in this case to be unjustified.

The Private Security Law explicitly excludes private detectives from conducting investigations in homes or reserved places.

The Supreme Court held that the employee’s garden and vegetable garden are spaces in which the employee has a legitimate expectation of privacy, and which cannot be subject to intrusion by third parties without his consent. As a result, the Social Chamber of the Supreme Court ratified the unfairness of the dismissal and rejected the appeal filed by the company.

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