The High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) has issued a landmark ruling that reshapes the labor landscape in the archipelago's tourism sector. The Social Chamber has partially upheld the collective bargaining dispute filed by the Canary Islands Workers' Trade Union Front (FSOC), declaring the right of accommodation sector workers on temporary disability leave (IT) to receive the extraordinary attendance bonus of €650 gross, agreed upon in the July 2025 strike settlement. This decision, which affects the entire province of Las Palmas, represents a major setback for the hotel employers' associations (FEHT, FTL, ASOLAN) and the major unions (CCOO, UGT) that signed the initial agreement, excluding employees on sick leave.
The conflict stems from an agreement reached in June 2025 to call off a general strike in the Canary Islands tourism sector. This agreement established a €650 bonus, termed an "extraordinary attendance and productivity bonus," the payment of which was contingent upon the "effective provision of services" between April 1, 2024, and April 1, 2025. The text explicitly excluded those who had not worked due to illness, interpreting "attendance" strictly. The FSOC, a minority union at the negotiating table but with a significant presence in the sector (7,05%), challenged the agreement in court, alleging discrimination based on health grounds and invoking the new Comprehensive Law 15/2022 on equal treatment and non-discrimination.
In a groundbreaking and courageous ruling, the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) has sided with the workers' union. The panel, presided over by Judge Gloria Poyatos, adopted a broad interpretation of the concept of "presenteeism" in light of current legislation, concluding that penalizing an employee with reduced pay for absences justified by health reasons, even if it is through a productivity bonus, constitutes direct discrimination based on illness. The judges rejected the employer's argument of combating absenteeism by excluding sick leave, establishing the principle that collective bargaining agreements cannot introduce discriminatory elements contrary to the legal system, especially after the entry into force of Law 15/2022, which grants enhanced protection for illness.
The ruling, however, has only been a partial victory for the FSOC. The court has rejected the claim to extend this €650 bonus to workers in the restaurant sector (bars and cafes covered by the same hospitality collective agreement). The High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) deemed this exclusion justified, recognizing substantial differences between the two sectors. The judges emphasized that the restaurant sector, regulated by a different decree and with its own professional classification, has lower wages and an economic reality characterized by smaller production units and greater business vulnerability, unlike large hotel complexes. Therefore, the exclusion is not considered artificial, but rather based on objective criteria that uphold the autonomy of collective bargaining.
This ruling sets a significant legal precedent in southern Gran Canaria, the Canary Islands' main tourist hub, and compels hotel companies in Maspalomas, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote to pay the bonus to hundreds of workers who were on sick leave during the period in question. The court decision strengthens the protection of workers' rights on sick leave, declaring "banked hours" or "attendance bonus" clauses that penalize illness illegal, and opens the door to a wave of claims in other sectors. The employers' association has already announced it will appeal to the Supreme Court, but for now, the Canary Islands courts have granted a reprieve to the members of the FSOC (Canary Islands Federation of Workers).
