The social chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of A Coruña declares illegal the recording of a domestic worker who was stealing from her employers' home. We are faced with a topic much discussed in recent rulings: can a surveillance camera be placed in the workplace without prior notice?

Apparently the answer is no, since the employee must be informed of the existence of cameras that are recording. What this sentence tells us is that the evidence of a crime committed by a  worker and that have been obtained by a surveillance camera are not valid. The reason why the test is not valid is that the employers had not notified the worker that these cameras had been installed, nor had they put a badge indicating it, requirements that the Constitutional Court has established in its ruling 39/2016 of March 3, 2016.

In the ruling that we are going to comment on today, we are faced with a dispute between a domestic worker and her employer. Suspecting that the employee was stealing money from a piggy bank owned by the employer's children, they placed cameras that confirmed that the employee was stealing money, appropriating a total of 700 euros, therefore the employee was disciplinaryly dismissed.

The court declares the images obtained through the cameras illegal, but confirms the origin of the dismissal. It is based on the confession of the employee, who admitted having taken the money, but justifying that she did so as payment for the purchases she made for the employer before arriving at the home and paid with her own money, alleging that this agreement had been made with the consent of the employer. The employer denies it and the burden of proof falls on the employee, since she cannot demonstrate the veracity of this agreement.

Although the recording presented has not been taken into account as evidence of the facts, the magistrates agree with the employer and declare the dismissal appropriate due to serious and culpable conduct on the part of the employee.

Failed: The Court rejects the worker's appeal.