Moroccan Consulate in Spain Faces Legal Setback Over Staff Complaints

One of the plaintiffs, a first-class maintenance agent employed since 2008, has seen his duties profoundly modified. While he was previously in charge of managing the cash register, archives and welcoming citizens, he was assigned to the position of the consul’s driver with a 24/7 availability requirement, reports ElDiario.es.

The second employee concerned held an administrative position within the consulate since 2020. Her tasks, initially related to civil status and then to reception, have been radically transformed. She found herself relocated to the third floor, in the notary’s office, with the sole mission of conducting an inventory of the equipment. According to the terms of the judgment, she has been occupying "an empty table, without a computer, with a disconnected telephone, without any office equipment, and deprived of any function" since then.

The social courts #3 and #11 of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria considered these job changes as abusive and ordered the consulate to reinstate the two employees in their initial functions. The maintenance agent will therefore have to regain his prerogatives at the public reception, the consular registration and the management of passports. As for the administrative employee, she will resume her tasks at the cash desk, the archives, the reception and the social services.

The decision concerning the administrative employee is final. However, the consulate can still appeal the judgment concerning the maintenance agent before the Social Chamber of the High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC). In this case, the judge emphasized the lack of formalization and the absence of justification for the reasons behind this job change. The plaintiff’s lawyer also denounced the imposition of permanent availability, with "untimely" requests for personal services.

In addition to the modification of their functions, the two employees raised the issue of the violation of their fundamental rights and claimed damages for moral prejudice. The administrative employee ultimately renounced this action, while the maintenance agent refused a compensation of 55,000 euros proposed by the consulate to settle the dispute. He wanted to see the "hostile, arrogant and humiliating" actions of the consul recognized in court, and produced audio recordings of conversations in support of his claims. However, these recordings were not admitted as evidence, due to lack of elements allowing to authenticate the voice of the consul.