Court upholds employer’s decision to sack worker for using Instagram and WhatsApp at work
The Canary Islands High Court of Justice (TSJC) has ruled that the dismissal of a worker for excessive use of WhatsApp and Instagram during working hours was lawful, confirming that employers can take disciplinary action when mobile phone use breaches contract rules.
The ruling was made public today (Thursday), and upholds an earlier decision issued in July 2024 by the Social Court No. 6 of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, which rejected the employee’s claim against the cleaning company that dismissed her.
According to the dismissal letter, the company cited several reasons, including repeated lateness, frequent absences of more than ten minutes, and the “continuous use of a personal mobile phone” during the working day. The employee’s contract explicitly prohibited phone use at work, except in very limited and justified circumstances.
The court heard that monitoring carried out over a three-month period showed the worker had spent a total of 21 hours and 41 minutes of her paid working time accessing social media on her phone. This included reading and posting messages on WhatsApp and Instagram, with some Instagram posts confirmed as having been published directly from her workplace.
In her defence, the employee argued that mobile phone use had been tolerated at work and that she had never been warned or disciplined for it before her contract was terminated.
However, the TSJC rejected this argument and agreed with the lower court’s assessment, ruling that the employer’s reasons were justified and that the dismissal was fair and lawful under employment regulations in the Canary Islands.
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