No Proof, No Wages for This Moroccan Worker

The case involves a Moroccan national residing in Spain in irregular status. This worker took legal action to claim back wages from Spatium Refur S.L and a private individual. He claimed to have performed professional work on their behalf without any employment contract or social security registration. Dismissed at first instance by the Mataró labor court, he appealed to the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia.

On Bladi.net : Controlled for his skin color": the Spanish justice rejects the argument and expels a Moroccan national

During proceedings, the company accused failed to appear at the hearing. The Moroccan plaintiff argued that this absence should automatically be interpreted as an admission of the facts. However, the Catalan judges dismantled this legal argument. The court recalled that the law does not require a judge to validate alleged facts solely on the basis of the opposing party’s non-appearance, as this decision remains a simple discretionary matter subject to overall assessment of the evidence.

The final rejection of the complaint rests on the worker’s inability to prove the existence of this undeclared employment. The court emphasized that the worker provided no material evidence to support his account. The file contained no testimony, no photographs, no recordings, and no prior complaint to the Labor Inspectorate. The plaintiff also failed to produce indirect documents attesting to his presence in the mentioned professional environment or his legal residence in Spain during that period.

On Bladi.net : An investor loses 151,000 euros after a real estate project in Morocco

In his defense, the Moroccan worker denounced a requirement for « diabolical proof, » deeming it impossible to satisfy given his undocumented status. The court categorically rejected this excuse. The judges clarified that the burden of proof lies with the accuser and that a worker in irregular status has numerous means to prove his activity, such as census certificates, medical documents, testimonies, or notarial deeds.