Why a Spanish woman was fired for regularly showing up 40 minutes early to work

There are many reasons one can conceivably be fired from a job. But you wouldn’t imagine one of those would be coming early to work. 

Well, that’s exactly what happened to a young Spanish woman who kept showing up early to work despite her boss warning her against it. 

But what happened exactly? How did she react? 

Let’s take a closer look. 

Early bird… gets the can 

The woman, 22, kept showing up to work between 6.45 and 7 am every day in Alicante in Spain’s southeastern Costa Blanca. This, despite her shift starting at 7.30 am. This infuriated the boss, who argued that her early arrival was of no help to the company. 

Despite being given repeated verbal and written warnings since 2023 by her boss, the woman refused to change her routine. According to The Sun newspaper, one employee even claimed that she was bad for morale and “disrupted team coordination.” 

Dismissing her boss’ argument as “unfair”, the young worker decided to move to the Social Court of Alicante. 

According to records presented in court, she reportedly came to the office early on 19 more days after being told to stop. The woman also tried to log in through the attendance app before she had even arrived at the office. 

However, the final straw was when she sold a used company car without a battery or permission. The court, after the hearing, ruled in the company’s favour. 

The judges reportedly did not find fault with her “excessive punctuality,” but the fact that she did not adhere to the rules after clearly being told to. The court noted that the 22-year-old continued this behaviour even after multiple written and verbal warnings. 

The court cited her brash refusal to follow workplace rules as a serious breach under Article 54 of the Spanish Workers’ Statute, as per The Sun. 

Several reports suggest that the young woman now plans to appeal to the Supreme Court in Valencia. 

Social media seems divided over the issue, with many taking her side and wondering whether excessive punctuality would be a reason for dismissal. 

A user wrote, “If you’re late, they’re angry. If you’re early, they’re angry.” 

Another person wrote, “This is the first time I’ve heard someone could lose their job for arriving early. At my workplace, the boss would turn you into a statue.” 

Experts say firms are authorised to enforce strict rules if they are set out clearly. 

Some unexpected firings 

This isn’t the only such unexpected firing. 

Earlier this year, a Florida woman named Alice shared a disturbing experience after being fired from a new job she hadn’t even started. 

Alice, taking to Reddit, explained that her firm withdrew the offer letter as Alice didn’t show up on her expected first day, which was September 2. But this was because the official offer email mentioned her start date as September 22. 

In 2024, a man identified as Karl Davies was sacked for greeting his manager, Scott Millward, saying “top of the morning to ya” in a mocking Irish accent. Davies was working at Wrexham’s Oscar Mayer ready meal manufacturing site. A probe aimed at determining whether the statement amounted to racial harassment was then launched, The Sun reported. 

Davies was awarded $21,400 (approx. Rs 16.9 lakh) in damages for unfair dismissal. 

With inputs from agencies.