There is no additional compensation for unfair dismissal STSJ M 10644/2025

The High Court of Justice of Madrid has ratified the ruling of the Labour Court, which declared the dismissal of a worker as unfair but rejected the request for additional compensation exceeding the maximum limit established in the Workers' Statute. The worker, who was dismissed after three months of service via a letter based on loss of trust, claimed three months of additional salary as damages.

In her appeal, the worker invoked ILO Convention 158, the European Social Charter (hereinafter, "ESC") and the Spanish Constitution, arguing that the legal compensation provided for in article 56 of the Workers' Statute did not guarantee adequate redress, as required by article 24 of the ESC.

The TSJ dismissed the appeal based on the recent doctrine of the Supreme Court, in particular the judgment of 19 December 2024 and the judgment of 16 July 2025, which ended the debate on additional compensation in cases of unfair dismissal. According to this jurisprudence, courts cannot establish compensation different from that provided in article 56 of the Workers' Statute, except in cases of violation of fundamental rights. The Chamber recalls that neither ILO Convention 158 nor the ECHR allow for the substitution of internal regulations, as they are provisions that are not directly applicable and whose implementation is the responsibility of the legislator.

In this regard, the majority opinion of the TSJ, in line with that of the Supreme Court, holds that the compensation system in article 56 of the Workers' Statute is closed and fixed, and that any modification can only come from the legislator. Therefore, the ruling of the lower court is confirmed, and the legal compensation is maintained.

"In summary, from our jurisdictional function, we must insist that the drafting of the letter is not self-sufficient, complete, or enforceable and that only the intervention of the regulatory powers can provoke the consequences that the recommendation —based on the decision of the ECHR— has decided to establish".

The reasons of equality and material justice lead us to maintain the same legal argument, and therefore, the appeal must be dismissed, and the ruling confirmed in its entirety.

Article written by the Labour Law Department of ECIJA Madrid.