Have you ever talked about your boss in a private chat? If this is your case, you’d better be careful because a group of workers in Spain were fired for insulting their boss in a private chat. Later, a court decided that the dismissals were not justified. Even though the conversation included very strong insults, the most important detail is that everything happened in a private chat among coworkers, and that changed the entire outcome. So, let’s find out more about this case.
The WhatsApp group chat
A group of employees at a driving school learned that they would have to work on December 24 and December 31. When they received this news, they got upset and expressed their frustration in a private WhatsApp group that included only trusted female coworkers.
In that private chat, they wrote several insults about their boss as a way of venting. The insults were harsh, but they were said in a closed space where the workers felt they could speak freely. They did not post the comments on social media or share them publicly.
However, one of the people in that private chat decided (on her own) to show the screenshots to their boss. This was what caused every employee involved in the conversation to be fired, including the one that leaked the messages.
Why the court defended the private chats
The case reached the High Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands (TSJIB), which had to decide whether the dismissals were fair. The key point was that the conversation occurred inside private chats, meaning a closed environment where people normally expect privacy. The court highlighted several important factors:
- The chat was private: It was not part of any official company communication channel, nor was it open to the public. Because of this, the employees had the right to believe that what they said would stay inside the group.
- There was no intention to publicly harm the boss: According to the court, the workers did not insult their boss with the goal of damaging him in front of others. They were simply expressing frustration among themselves.
- The insults were not serious enough to justify firing: Even though the messages were offensive, the judges ruled that they did not create an irreversible breakdown of the working relationship because they happened in a personal, private context.
- The company could not prove any public attack: Since the chat was not public and not part of any workplace communication space, the comments could not be treated as public statements.
- The messages were leaked by one person, not the whole group: Only one worker decided to show the messages to the boss, and she was also fired. This confirmed that the others did not intend for their private conversation to leave the group.
Reactions from labor and privacy experts
Labor and privacy experts pointed out that this decision is important because it clarifies the limits between personal life and work. According to these opinions, an employer can’t punish their workers for what they say outside working hours and inside a closed, private environment, unless there is harassment, threats, or direct harm to the company.
These experts also explained this ruling coincides with other previous cases in Spain where courts defended privacy in private chats, as long as there was no voluntary spreading of the messages or an intentional public attack.
What the court’s decision means for workers
After analyzing the case, the court declared the dismissals unfair. Because of this, the employees were allowed to return to their jobs. In addition, the company must pay them compensation for the time they were out of work.
So, with this decision, the court reinforced the idea that companies cannot interfere with personal conversations that happen outside of work and inside private spaces. Do you think the court’s decision was the right thing to do?