The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled in favor of a Spanish worker who was dismissed after reporting gender pay discrimination. In its judgment on the case Ortega Ortega vs. Spain (Application no. 36325/22), the Court criticizes the Spanish judiciary for failing to guarantee effective protection against retaliation after the employee legally claimed she was paid less than her male colleagues.
The lawyer in the case, Agustín del Castillo García, from the Illustrious Bar Association of Malaga and Associate Professor Doctor at the University of Malaga, has expressed his "deep satisfaction" with a result he describes as a "legal and personal milestone," recalling that only around 4% of the lawsuits filed before the ECtHR are admitted. Del Castillo emphasizes that this work has been possible thanks to the constant and decisive collaboration of the Lawyer from Malaga and Lanzarote, Blas Ríos Galacho, and the Professors of Labor Law at UMA, Francisco Vila Tierno and Juan Carlos Álvarez Cortés.
The case originates from a claim for pay discrimination that was already recognized by Spanish courts and confirmed by the High Court of Justice of Andalusia (TSJA).
However, the company subsequently dismissed the worker, alleging that she had used internal documents to prove this discrimination. The ECtHR now considers that this dismissal constituted retaliation and that the Spanish State did not guarantee the necessary protection to make her right effective
The ruling concludes that the European Convention on Human Rights has been violated and orders the State to compensate the affected party financially. But the pronouncement goes further: it opens the door for the case to return to the Supreme Court, which will have to rule on the merits of the matter and assess the company's responsibility.
"First, the worker was discriminated against, and then she was fired. Now the European Court confirms it and recognizes that Spanish justice did not protect her," Del Castillo concludes
