Spanish court upholds Mercadona manager's dismissal over excessive internet use

The High Court of Justice of Castilla y León has upheld the disciplinary dismissal of a manager at a Mercadona logistics block in Villadangos del Páramo, León. The ruling follows the discovery that the employee accessed non-work-related websites 7,685 times during working hours over a 25-day period in February 2025.

According to the court, the employee used a corporate computer to access various platforms, including YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Reddit, and Trustpilot. The court noted that the worker violated the duty of probity required in a service relationship through the abusive use of the internet during work hours.

The dismissal was further supported by a history of misconduct, including previous warnings in 2021 for inappropriate comments and threats, and a 2023 sanction for abandoning his post. Additionally, the employee used corporate email for personal purposes on at least 30 occasions between November 2024 and April 2025, and was involved in a verbal altercation with a colleague involving insults in May 2025.