How Arriving Early Every Day Led To A Sudden Dismissal

You usually worry about getting fired for being late, right? Well, a 22-year-old logistics worker in Spain just lost her job for the exact opposite reason. She was showing up 40 minutes early every day, and her boss actually let her go for it. According to Metro, she routinely arrived between 6:45 am and 7:00 am, well ahead of her contracted 7:30 am start time, and kept doing so despite months of warnings dating back to 2023.

Her boss issued multiple verbal and written instructions to stop the habit, but she continued anyway, racking up at least 19 more early arrivals even after formal cautions. Eventually, the manager ran out of patience and dismissed her for serious misconduct, arguing that her refusal to follow clear instructions and her lack of contribution during those early minutes amounted to a breach of workplace rules.

The woman challenged the decision in the Social Court of Alicante, arguing the dismissal was unfair. But the court noted she had persisted with her early-arrival routine and had even attempted to log in through the company app before physically entering the office.

Her employer further accused her of breaching trust by selling a used company car battery without authorisation. Ultimately, the court backed the employer, stressing that the issue wasn’t “excessive punctuality” but repeated disobedience, a serious violation under Article 54 of Spain’s Workers’ Statute.

The case has fuelled intense debate online, with many wondering why showing up early could ever be grounds for firing. Employment experts stepped in to clarify that companies can enforce strict working hours and access rules, as long as those rules are clearly communicated and consistently enforced. The woman still has the option to appeal to the Supreme Court of Valencia.

In a similar workplace controversy earlier this year, a Florida woman named Alice went viral after being fired before she even started. She explained on Reddit that her employer withdrew her offer when she didn’t show up on what they claimed was her first day, September 2, even though her official offer letter clearly listed her start date as September 22. The mix-up sparked yet another round of heated discussions about employer accountability and communication.