The High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) has issued a ruling that sets a significant precedent in the islands' retail sector. The court has ordered Dinosol Supermarkets to grant a flexible work schedule to an employee (who has been with the company since 2001) to care for his young son and his dependent mother, and has also ordered him to pay €5.000 in compensation for emotional distress.
The ruling not only adheres to the literal wording of the Workers' Statute, but also introduces a key element in Canary Islands labor jurisprudence: the application of a gender perspective. The judgment emphasizes that, although in this case the plaintiff is a man, work-life balance is a right that must be protected to prevent the burden of caregiving from systematically falling on women, perpetuating wage and professional gaps.
The conflict began in 2024 when the employee, who had worked for the chain since 2001, requested a change from a rotating rest schedule to a fixed schedule of Saturdays and Sundays. The company initially refused, maintaining the store's usual work schedule. However, the court has accepted the evidence presented by the employee: a five-year-old son and a bedridden mother with multiple debilitating illnesses.
"The ruling reinforces Article 34.8 of the Workers' Statute, elevating work-life balance from a mere aspiration to an enforceable right when duly accredited family needs exist," according to legal sources consulted. This setback for Dinosol, a leading food distributor in the archipelago, sends a clear message to the sector: internal shift scheduling cannot be an insurmountable obstacle in cases of severe dependency. Furthermore, compensation for moral damages acts as a deterrent against the systematic refusal of companies to negotiate these adjustments.
