When we think of the days of own matterswe usually assume that they are something by right (in reality it is so, although with nuances) to what we can resort when personal life crosses with the professional. An urgent procedure, a medical appointment that cannot be changed or even a simple day to disconnect from work stress. However, what many workers do not know is that, although we saythis right exists, its use is not always as free as it seems. And when the conditions that regulate it are ignored, the consequences can be much more serious than expected.
That is exactly what happened to a Stellantis plant worker in Zaragoza. Requested a day of its own matters, the company denied it for organizational reasons and He decided to take it equally. Its absence caused a stop on the production line, and the company responded with a dismissal disciplinary. The case came to court, where the employee tried to defend his position. But justice, in this case, was not on his part.
A story, which may seem one more anecdote of the work world, but that is actually a call for attention for many employees: Asking for a day off is not the same as having a white letter to absent. The key is to know well what the collective agreement establishes, respect the channels and understand that, sometimes, the organization of a company has to prevail to avoid greater evils.
What are the days of own matters
In Spain, the days of their own matters are a recognized figure in numerous collective agreements, although There is no general regulation in the statute of workers who contemplate them as an automatic right. This means that Its concession depends on what each agreement establishes, or, failing that, which is agreed in the individual labor contract. Normally, these are days that the employee can request to resolve personal issues without justifying them thoroughly.
Now, although the objective is to facilitate conciliation, that does not imply that the worker can be absent without further ado. The usual thing is that the request of a day of own affairs has to be done in writing and in advanceand that is subject to the approval of the direct manager or the Human Resources Department. If there are organizational reasons that justify it, the company can deny the application, provided it does with a concrete and reasoned justification.
The conflict in Stellantis
The protagonist of this story was A Stellantis operator in Zaragoza, a plant with its own collective agreement which specifically regulates the use of your own matters. In January 2024, this worker asked for a day off for 12 of that month. His supervisor, claiming that there were already several absences planned for that date (between medical casualties and granted permits), informed him that It was not possible to meet your request Without harming production. Despite this refusal, the worker decided not to go equally.
The immediate consequence was an unemployment in the assembly line during the afternoon shiftwith two short interruptions that, however, were enough for the manufacture of two vehicles to be lost. Given the rhythm of production (just over a minute per vehicle), even these small stops can have a relevant economic impact. Given this situation, The company considered that the employee had disobeyed a direct order of his superior, what motivated his dismissal for disciplinary causes.
What did justice say
The worker appealed the dismissal, defending that he had the right to absent that day and that the company was acting disproportionately. In addition, he introduced an especially delicate argument into his defense: that His dismissal was due to an alleged persecution for his union activity. However, neither The Social Court or the Superior Court of Justice of Aragon accepted this thesis.
In December 2024, the Court of First Instance considered that the dismissal was validsince the worker had acted consciously and deliberately by disobeying the instructions of his person responsible. Having negatively affected the operation of the plant, the sanction imposed (the dismissal) was considered toto. The resource presented to the Aragon TSJ also did not prosper: The court ratified that the company had acted within the legal framework and that the dismissal did not violate fundamental rights.
The most striking of this case is not so much the severity of the sanction as the confusion that still exists among many workers regarding what a day of their own matters implies. No, it is not an absolute right. No, it cannot be taken on your own if it has been denied. And yes, the company has power to deny it if there are organizational motifs, provided that they are properly justified.
What this sentence highlights is that It is not enough to have good faith or personal need: If the agreement establishes a procedure to request a free day, it must be fulfilled. Sawn it can have serious consequences, even if the absence lasts only a few hours. In industrial environments where every minute counts, any interruption can have chain effects.
