The ruling revokes the decision of the Madrid TSJ, arguing that the exclusion of the holiday bonus for these workers is not justified and violates the right to equality.

This ruling resolves the appeal for the unification of doctrine filed by the worker's legal representation, against the ruling issued on April 26, 2023 by the Social Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid, in the appeal No. 1444/2022 formulated against the ruling of the Social Court no. 39 of Madrid, dated September 16, 2022 (orders no. 1192/2020 claim for amount and recognition of rights).

Ms. Salvadora has provided services for a company in the cleaning sector since May 5, 2007,through a part-time employment contract with 46.29% of the working day, performing cleaning duties.Their working hours take place only on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., providing services on a Madrid Metro line.

During the employment relationship, the company has not paid the worker the salary bonus corresponding to work on Sundays and holidays, which is expressly regulated in article 29.4 of the Collective Agreement of the Building and Premises Cleaning Sector of the Community of Madrid, applicable to full-time or ordinary workers. The agreement establishes the following: "The worker whose normal day takes place on holidays may choose between: a) Enjoy a weekly day of rest as compensation within the following week, by agreement of the parties. b) Accumulate rest time with statutory vacations. c) Collect it according to current regulations. Workers hired exclusively to work on holidays are excepted from the above.

The worker's claim refers to the payment of the holiday bonus, in the period between November 2017 and July 2020, in which she worked the following days:

• Year 2017: 9 Sundays and 3 holidays.
• Year 2018: 45 Sundays and 14 holidays.
• Year 2019: 47 Sundays and 11 holidays.
• Year 2020: 30 Sundays and 7 holidays.

The collective agreement applicable during the period subject to claim is the Agreement of the Building and Premises Cleaning Sector of the Community of Madrid for the years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, published in the BOCAM on March 23, 2019.

Ultimately, the Labor Court dismissed the claim filed, absolving the defendant company of the claims made,understanding that workers hired specifically to provide services only on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays are excluded from receiving the holiday bonus. The collective agreement only establishes this right for workers with normal working hours who occasionally have to work on Sundays and holidays.

Subsequently, the Social Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid also rejected the appeal filed by Ms. Salvadora, fully confirming the lower court resolution.  In response, the worker formalized an appeal for the unification of doctrine, providing as a contradictory ruling the STTS of October 9, 2018 (rec. 23/2018), which dealt with an identical case, with the same facts and applicable regulations. The appeal alleged infringement of article 14 of the Spanish Constitution, as well as articles 12.4.d) of the Workers' Statute and 29.4 of the sector's Collective Agreement.

The question to be resolved is whether workers hired part-time to provide services on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays have the right to receive the bonus for holidays and Sundays contemplated in art. 29.4 of the Collective Agreement of the Building and Premises Cleaning Sector of the Community of Madrid.

The company maintains that the bonus is only recognized for personnel who occasionally provide services on holidays.

The Supreme Court applies the principle of equality (art. 14 CE) and reiterates that workers in the same situation cannot be treated unequally without objective and reasonable justification.. Article 29.4 of the agreement recognizes the bonus for all personnel included in the scope of application without exceptions. Although article 21 of the agreement establishes that those who work only on holidays are not entitled to compensatory breaks, it does not exclude the right to bonuses. Furthermore, this rule is contrary to the principle of equality unless the existence of a special condition that sufficiently compensates for work on holidays is demonstrated.  In this case, the existence of a specific supplement that compensates for work on holidays has not been proven.In short, the purpose of the holiday bonus is to compensate for the hardship of work on holidays, and just as the agreement establishes a compensation system for workers who work a full or ordinary day, there must be a similar mechanism that recognizes those workers hired to work only on holidays..

Failed:

The appeal for the unification of doctrine is upheld, recognizing the plaintiff's right to receive the holiday bonus corresponding to the days actually worked during the claimed period, in accordance with the calculation indicated in the execution of the sentence, based on the allegations of the parties.