Galician Court Orders Health Service to Compensate Employee Over Workplace Harassment Failure

• The High Court of Justice of Galicia (TSXG) has ordered the Galician Health Service (Sergas) to pay €38,497.80 in compensation to an employee for failing to protect their physical and moral integrity.
• The court ruled that the administration’s response to reported workplace harassment was ineffective, belated, and reactive rather than preventative.

Origin of the Conflict

• Problems began in January 2021 when the employee, an administrative worker in Vigo, experienced a gradual reduction in duties and loss of access to essential IT systems following internal conflicts.
• Despite repeated reports of harassment and a formal investigation initiated in July 2023, the internal probe concluded in January 2024 without finding evidence of workplace bullying or discrimination.
• The employee suffered from anxiety-related sick leave during this period and pursued legal action after an initial lower court dismissal.

Judicial Findings

• The TSXG found that while Sergas attempted to reassign the worker, these measures were non-preventative and failed to resolve the root cause of the distress.
• The administration had been aware of the issues since 2021 but failed to implement protective protocols or conduct a specific study on psychosocial risks, despite the employee's documented health struggles.
• The court criticized the management for providing ineffective protection that directly harmed the employee's mental health.

Legal Mandates

• The court declared that the administration violated the employee's fundamental rights.
• Sergas is now legally mandated to conduct an effective evaluation of the psychosocial risks present in the employee's current position.