A court in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has ordered the Moroccan consulate to pay 20,000 euros to an administrative employee, citing «workplace harassment» by the current consul. Despite an earlier offer of 55,000 euros to drop the case, the employee pursued legal action to highlight the psychological harm and degrading treatment he faced. The Social Affairs Court No. 9 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has issued a ruling requiring the Moroccan consulate to compensate an administrative employee with 20,000 euros. This decision came after it was proven that the employee was subjected to degrading treatment and continuous psychological pressure by the current consul, actions that the court described as «workplace harassment». The case involves an employee who has been working at the consulate since 2008. He previously declined an offer of 55,000 euros in compensation in exchange for dropping his lawsuit, according to Spanish media reports. The employee preferred to continue with the legal proceedings to prove the moral damage he suffered since the consul assumed her duties in September 2022. According to the details of the ruling issued on November 10, the employee was subjected to arbitrary changes in his duties. He was reassigned as the consul's private driver and required to be on call around the clock. Later, he was isolated in an office without any actual tasks and was prohibited from communicating with his colleagues, in an environment dominated by intimidation, fear, and psychological pressure. The court confirms his assignment to personal tasks outside his job scope The court also found that the consul contacted him at late hours to assign him personal tasks outside his job scope, including fetching food or transporting her children, without reimbursing him for the expenses he incurred from his own money. These practices were deemed to violate his dignity and basic rights. The psychological report attached to the case file indicated that the employee suffers from complex post-traumatic stress disorder due to a «hostile environment» at the workplace. It confirmed a direct link between his health condition and the harassment he faced, which forced him to take a long-term medical leave. Despite a previous ruling ordering his reinstatement to his original position in the reception department, the employee remained, according to documents submitted to the court, isolated and stripped of any actual duties upon his return to work. The court considered this a continuation of the abusive behavior. While the employee requested compensation of 30,000 euros, the court decided to reduce it to 20,000 euros, considering this amount fair given the duration of the medical leave and the ongoing psychological harm. The court noted that the ruling is not final and can be appealed before the Supreme Court of Justice in the Canary Islands. In the same context, the same source reported that another female employee at the Moroccan consulate faced similar measures. She was transferred to an isolated floor, stripped of her duties, and placed in an empty office without equipment, in violation of previous court decisions that ordered her reinstatement to her original position. This prompted the judiciary to issue a warning to the consulate under the threat of a financial penalty.
