Ambulance driver loses unfair dismissal appeal for breakfast stops while carrying patients

The employee was also caught speeding at 143km/h to compensate for being late for work

C. L.

Madrid

Friday, 25 April 2025, 11:41

An ambulance driver in Spain has been dismissed for several breaches of contract, including stopping for 20 minutes to have 'churros' for breakfast, while a patient was waiting inside the vehicle. He was also reported for driving over the permitted maximum speed limit to compensate for being late to work. The former employee lodged an appeal with the High Court of Justice of Castilla-La Mancha, but his request was rejected.

The dismissal by the employer, Digamar Servicion S.L. - a company specialised in the transport of patients to hospitals and health centres, - was served on 29 May 2023. In the letter of dismissal, the company cited several instances of serious breaches that the driver had committed. The employee had a complaint issued against him for delayed patient collection, in breach with the set schedule. In addition, the worker had previously received warnings for not carrying out the necessary checks on the ambulance and for making unauthorised stops of about 20 minutes in cafés and churrerías, with and without patients on board.

The disciplinary file listed another incident from12 April 2023, when the driver started his shift at 8.20am, instead of 8am as required by his timetable. As a result and to compensate for the delay, he drove with 143km/h, which posed a risk to patients and other road users.

The former employee and colleagues of his had previously filed overtime complaints. When he appealed before the High Court, he attributed his 'unfair' dismissal to his trade union activity and to having filed a complaint, which breached his freedom and fundamental rights. He argued that his actions were the result of technical or health problems.

However, both Guadalajara's social court and the Supreme Court dismissed the former employee's allegations of trade union persecution, concluding that there was insufficient evidence to consider that the dismissal was motivated by his status as a trade union representative.

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