For more than ten years, he’d been a reliable hand at a well-known Mallorcan meat company — behind the wheel making deliveries, and in the warehouse sorting orders. But in August 2023, everything changed. A doctor’s note, citing a hip injury, would set off a chain of events that brought his long-standing role to an abrupt end. The diagnosis was clear: degenerative osteoarthritis in the right hip—a condition that, according to his medical report, made physical work impossible. He was signed off for several weeks to rest and recover. And yet, something didn’t sit right with the company. Within hours of submitting his medical leave, suspicions began to arise. The management, wary of the situation, arranged surveillance on the employee. What they discovered changed everything. Just three days into his sick leave, the worker was spotted on the padel courts of a hotel in Playa de Palma. Playing as if nothing were wrong. It wasn’t a one-off: over the following three weeks, he was seen there once a week. Surveillance reports described him making sharp turns, jumping, and stretching—movements hardly compatible with a supposedly damaged hip. The company acted swiftly. After reviewing the evidence, the company wasted no time in handing down an immediate dismissal. The letter pointed to the clear contradiction between his medical condition and the physical activity he’d been engaging in. The employee contested the decision, arguing that playing padel didn’t hinder his recovery. He even submitted a medical opinion supporting his claim, suggesting the sport was part of his rehabilitation. But the court wasn’t persuaded. In a recent ruling, the High Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands (TSJB) upheld the dismissal, deeming it justified. The judges concluded that the employee had acted fraudulently, using sick leave to take part in a physically demanding activity, which they deemed a serious violation. The court referred to well-established case law: engaging in activities that hinder or delay recovery while on medical leave justifies dismissal—especially when it suggests the employer has been misled. The verdict leaves the employee with no compensation and no job. A ruling that reinforces the fragile boundary between an employee’s right to health and the duty of honesty towards their employer. As for the padel courts at Playa de Palma—he hasn’t been seen there since. Stay tuned with Euro weekly news for the latest news about Europe and Mallorca.