Mercadona ordered to compensate a worker in Fuerteventura
Background
The Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) has ruled that the supermarket chain Mercadona must pay €7,501 to a former employee in Fuerteventura for violating her fundamental right to data protection. The breach occurred when the company included the worker’s full name, her partner’s identity, their reduced working hours, and a detailed breakdown of her monthly salary in a dismissal letter addressed to her partner.
The case stems from a claim filed by a Mercadona manager at the Butihondo store, who alleged that the company inserted her personal data into a disciplinary file concerning her romantic partner without her consent.
Court Ruling
- The TSJC partially overturned a lower‑court decision that had dismissed the claim.
- It found that Mercadona’s disclosure of the employee’s personal and salary information was unlawful.
“Even a legitimate aim such as guaranteeing equal pay between men and women does not justify the non‑consented communication of data that allows the identification of an individual’s remuneration.” – Supreme Court ruling, November 2024
Legal Reasoning
The court acknowledged that Mercadona had a legitimate interest in exercising its disciplinary authority and justifying the dismissal. However, it concluded that this interest did not excuse the non‑consensual processing of the employee’s personal data.
Key points from the judgment:
- The disclosure “does not meet the necessity criterion required by data‑protection law.”
- The same objective could have been achieved without naming a specific person, for example by:
- Referring to another worker in the same position, or
- Using anonymised data.
- The fact that salary tables are posted on workplace notice boards does not justify inserting a named employee’s salary details into a disciplinary file.
Compensation and Orders
The court awarded €7,501 in damages, applying the minimum sanction because:
- The data breached were not classified as “especially sensitive.”
- There was no evidence of prior similar conduct by the company.
- No reputational injury was proven.
Mercadona is also ordered to remove the worker’s personal data from any disciplinary records and to delete or rectify all internal and external documents where the information was improperly included.