In the workplace, it is possible to claim compensation for damages as long as the emloyee proves that the employer has violated some of his or her fundamental rights.
The general fundamental rights are those that deserve special protection and that are included in Title I of the Spanish Constitution:
The right to life and physical and moral integrity.
To ideological, religious and cult freedom.
To freedom and security.
To honor, personal and family intimacy, as well as one's own image.
To freedom of residence and movement.
To freedom of expression and academic freedom.
To freedom of assembly.
To freedom of association.
To participation in public affairs.
To effective judicial protection.
To criminal non-retroactivity.
To the prohibition of the Courts of Honor.
To education and freedom of teaching.
To free unionization and strike action.
At individual and collective request.
Additionally, there are other specific fundamental rights for the employee, which must also be especially observed, such as the following:
Right to work and effective employment
Right to equality and non-discrimination
Right to collective bargaining
Right to free unionization
Right to strike
Right to Social Security
Right to privacy
Right to promotion and professional training
Right to physical and mental safety and integrity through an adequate occupational risk prevention plan
And in any case, the employer must respect the basic working conditions that regulate the employment relationship (i.e. working hours, salary, vacations, etc.).
Any business behavior that generates a violation of fundamental rights may give rise to the imposition of compensation for damages for having generated any of the following damages to the employee:
Property damage, which causes business behavior, such as a salary not received or a property loss due to consequential damage, and
Moral damage caused by any behavior of the company that violates a fundamental right, but which does not have to imply a financial loss (e.g. a situation of workplace harassment does not generate financial damage but does generate psychological damage to the employee).
Current labor legislation does not establish any type of scale or offer any method to calculate the damages suffered by a employee due to the violation of their fundamental rights. Furthermore, the amount will be set, where appropriate, arbitrarily by the judge taking into account the specific circumstances of each case.
However, at ORTIZ PALMA ABOGADOS LABORALISTAS we have a precise methodology for calculating damages that allows us to ensure that the claims for damages that we file are successful.
