The Social Chamber of the High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) has issued a highly significant ruling for the economic and labor fabric of southern Gran Canaria, dismissing the appeal filed by a worker against the previous court decision that upheld the extension of her temporary layoff (ERTE). The litigation, centered on the situation of an administrative assistant employed by the homeowners' association in Maspalomas since May 2007, stems from a series of serious unforeseen and administrative incidents that have rendered the office area where her workplace is located inoperative for years.
The factual background established in the judicial resolution places the origin of the conflict at the beginning of 2021, specifically on January 31, the date on which a destructive fire was declared in a premises that spread rapidly throughout the premises, critically affecting more than twenty establishments, the galleries and vital elements of the common areas such as the roof, the water pipes and the centralization of electric meters.
Given the obvious danger to people's physical safety, the electricity company immediately cut off the power supply, rendering the commercial area completely unusable. This initial blow was compounded by the decisive intervention of the San Bartolomé de Tirajana City Council, which issued a formal resolution in early 2022 ordering the evacuation and precautionary sealing of the entire complex due to the severity of the accumulated damage.
Although the initial rehabilitation work was progressing well with a view to an early reopening, extreme weather drastically disrupted the shopping center's recovery expectations at the end of 2022, after suffering significant leaks and seepage caused by rainfall associated with Cyclone Hermine.
The torrential rains destroyed part of the newly installed suspended ceilings and damaged the new light fixtures, indefinitely delaying the opening of the facilities. Although the city council authorized the partial removal of the seal from the ground floor and basements in the summer of 2023 to allow the reopening of the commercial and storage area, it strictly maintained the access ban and the seal on the parking garage, the exact location of the homeowners' association's administrative office and the plaintiff's workplace.
In this scenario of administrative restrictions and unfinished works, the community of owners processed successive extensions of a temporary layoff (ERTE) due to force majeure, protected by the Workers' Statute, given that the affected employee was the only direct staff member of the entity linked to said office attached to the garage.
The affected employee appealed the measure in court, considering the extension of her contract suspension unjustified. She initially received a negative ruling from the labor court in Las Palmas. However, the recent decision by the High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) fully upholds the legality of the company's actions, confirming that the requirements of force majeure and the absolute material impossibility of providing the employee with effective work are undeniably met while the municipal seal remains in place and the required safety procedures in the parking area of the Maspalomas resort are not completed.
