A Spanish court recently ruled that an electric company wrongfully terminated one of their electricians for drinking beer on the job because they couldn’t prove he was drunk.

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Although drinking on the job is considered a reason for an employer to terminate an employee, court officials in Murcia, Spain, recently ruled this is only applicable when an employer can prove that their employee was intoxicated. According to Oddity Central, an electrician was heavily drunk to the point where he could no longer safely perform his duties. He was fired in September 2021 after being with the company for 25 years.

Recently, the court ordered the company to pay him 47,000 euros($52,000) for failing to prove that he was drunk or unable to perform any duties. Additionally, they failed to consider the hot summer, which reportedly justified the electrician’s drinking.

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The electrician was terminated after a hired private detective gathered evidence that he was drinking on the job within several weeks and said he reportedly consumed large amounts of beer throughout the day. In his termination letter, the company said the man and his colleagues were observed stopping for a drink at a bar around 8:27 a.m. and bought four cans of San Miguel beer plus a liter of Estrella de Levante beer during their lunch hour. Later that afternoon, he drank another can of beer and another that evening around 6:30 p.m. before returning to the base.

Additionally, the private detective said they saw the electrician and his colleagues drinking seven liters of beer between the morning and the end of their lunch break. He also had another can of beer, three glasses of wine, and a shot of brandy. However, the court disagreed with this evidence and said the detective failed to mention if the employee was too drunk to work.

“At no time did the private detective make mentions of signs of inebriation or clumsiness when it came to walking. There is no proof – documentary, expert, or witness – that unequivocally demonstrates that the man was under the effects of alcohol and was inebriated, intoxicated, or drunk. Neither has it been proved, even circumstantially, that his physical and mental faculties were reduced or diminished during his tasks as an electrician, nor that he was impeded when he drove the company van at the end of the working day. Another factor to be borne in mind is that this relates to the month of July in Murcia and Cartagena, where the climatic conditions and the geographical habits should be considered”

Wrongful termination is defined in Spain as when an employer terminates an employment contract without just cause or without completing the required legal processes. The Spanish Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores) specifies the conditions under which termination is deemed unjust. This includes a breach of contract, discrimination, illness, and retaliation.