The Supreme Court establishes that the dining room of a municipal center for the elderly is "inherent" and "necessary" for the service

It concludes that the Madrid City Council must face the joint and several liability established by the Workers' Statute

MADRID, 23 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Supreme Court has established that the cafeteria and dining room service in the municipal centers for the elderly is not a complementary activity, but rather an "inherent" and "necessary" service for the city council to provide the public service, therefore it concludes that the The consistory must face its responsibility with respect to subcontracted workers.

The magistrates have ruled like this after reviewing the case of a woman who worked --between 2007 and 2018-- as a cook in a subcontractor that provided services in a municipal center for the elderly in Madrid and who sued the company that hired her, al City Council and the Salary Guarantee Fund (Fogasa) after spending four months without receiving his salary.

In the sentence, to which Europa Press has had access, the court has explained that the controversy in this matter lay in determining whether the cafeteria and dining room service of the municipal centers for the elderly of the Madrid City Council constituted an "own activity" the effects of determining whether or not the consistory should face joint and several liability regulated by the Workers' Statute, as defended by the worker.

The case began in an employment court that agreed with the woman and sentenced the company to pay her the salaries corresponding to the months of November and December 2017 and January and February 2018 --for an accumulated amount of 5,597 euros--. When estimating the worker's claim, it also condemned the Madrid City Council to respond jointly and severally to the amount of 4,952 euros.

Dissatisfied with the resolution, the consistory took the case to the Superior Court of Justice (TSJ) of Madrid, which corrected the decision of the court and acquitted it, considering that the dining room and cafeteria service was not "essential" for the provision of services of the municipal centers for the elderly. The woman went to the high court to unify doctrine since there were other sentences in which the dining room service is described as "own activity".

In 17 pages, the Social Chamber of the Supreme Court has determined that "the cafeteria and dining room service of municipal centers for the elderly is not an unspecific complementary activity of the local corporation, such as cleaning or surveillance of the center" .

The magistrates have concluded that the dining room and cafeteria are a service that the city council "must develop in order to adequately carry out the powers it has assumed."

In this sense, the high court has upheld the appeal of the woman and has annulled the decision of the TSJ of Madrid that said that the dining room was not "essential" in the municipal centers for the elderly.

Thus, the City Council must assume the joint payment of the amount set by the Madrid court, because the Workers' Statute establishes that the main company -in this case the consistory- "during the three years following the termination of its The order will be jointly and severally liable for the obligations related to Social Security contracted by the contractors and subcontractors during the period of validity of the contract".