A labour dispute is emerging in Ibiza and Formentera as Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) warns of what it describes as a growing use of disciplinary sanctions against workers at the end of the summer season.

The union says its legal services have been receiving between two and three disciplinary sanctions involving workers each day since mid-August, with the hospitality sector reportedly the most affected.

CCOO argues that some companies are using repeated disciplinary proceedings to build files that can later be used to justify disciplinary dismissals without severance pay. These are allegations made by the union and have not been established as a general practice across businesses in Ibiza and Formentera.

CCOO Says the Cases Increased From August

According to CCOO, the increase began around the middle of August as the main tourism season started to wind down.

The union says its lawyers have seen a steady flow of disciplinary proceedings involving alleged issues such as short delays, unverified customer complaints, organisational disagreements, alleged falls in performance and loss of confidence.

CCOO describes this as an alleged "sanctioning strategy", arguing that repeated warnings can create a disciplinary record over a relatively short period.

Union Claims the Practice Could Lead to Dismissals Without Severance

The central allegation concerns the difference between disciplinary dismissal and other forms of termination.

CCOO says some employers are allegedly using repeated sanctions to build a case for disciplinary dismissal rather than using other forms of dismissal at the end of the season.

Under Spain's Workers' Statute, disciplinary dismissal can be used where there is a serious and culpable breach of the employment contract, including repeated unjustified lateness or absence, disobedience, abuse of trust or a sustained and voluntary reduction in performance.

A valid disciplinary dismissal does not carry the statutory severance payment associated with an unfair dismissal. If a court later declares a dismissal unfair, the legal consequences are different and can include reinstatement or compensation.

Hotel Employers Reject a Systematic Pattern

The Federación Empresarial Hotelera de las Pitiusas has now responded to the allegations.

Its general manager, Santiago García, said the organisation has neither detected nor received reports indicating a general accumulation of disciplinary sanctions in hotels across Ibiza and Formentera for the purpose alleged by CCOO.

He criticised what he described as a generalised accusation against the sector and asked the union to provide specific cases where irregular practices may have occurred.

Employers Say Sanctions Are Intended to Correct Conduct

The hotel employers' federation also argues that disciplinary measures are governed by labour legislation and the applicable hospitality collective agreement.

García said sanctions are intended to correct workplace conduct and prevent the same behaviour from being repeated, rather than to end employment relationships.

He also stressed that workers who disagree with a sanction have the right to challenge it.

This directly contradicts CCOO's interpretation that sanctions are being systematically accumulated in order to prepare disciplinary dismissals.

Workers Can Challenge Disciplinary Sanctions

Spanish labour law provides workers with a route to challenge sanctions imposed by their employer.

Article 58 of the Workers' Statute states that disciplinary decisions can be reviewed by the social courts, while serious and very serious sanctions must be communicated in writing with the date and the facts on which they are based.

CCOO is advising workers who receive a sanction notice to write "NO CONFORME" when signing, add the exact date and time and request a copy of the document.

The union also recommends challenging sanctions rather than allowing several unchallenged notices to accumulate.

The 20-Day Deadline Is Important After a Dismissal

Workers who believe a dismissal is unlawful have a limited period to challenge it.

Under Spain's Social Jurisdiction Law, an employee has 20 working days from the dismissal to bring a claim. The period is a statutory expiry deadline, although certain conciliation or mediation procedures can interrupt the calculation.

This is why employment lawyers and unions generally emphasise the importance of keeping copies of dismissal and sanction letters and acting quickly when a dispute arises.

CCOO Says Hospitality Is Particularly Affected

CCOO says the alleged pattern is most visible in hospitality, although it believes similar cases are beginning to appear in other sectors.

The union links the timing to the end of the peak tourism period, arguing that businesses seeking to reduce staffing after the strongest months of the season may be tempted to use disciplinary procedures rather than other forms of dismissal.

That interpretation remains contested by the hotel employers' federation.

No Evidence of a Generalised Illegal Practice Has Been Established

At this stage, there is no public evidence establishing that companies across Ibiza and Formentera are systematically creating false disciplinary records.

CCOO has reported what it says its legal services are seeing and has described the cases as part of a wider pattern. The employers' federation has rejected that conclusion and has asked for specific cases to be identified.

The distinction is important: individual sanctions or dismissals may ultimately be challenged before the labour courts, but the current public statements do not establish a generalised unlawful practice across the islands.

A Dispute Emerging at the End of the Tourism Season

The disagreement comes as businesses across Ibiza and Formentera approach the final stages of the 2026 tourism season.

For workers, the issue concerns how disciplinary procedures are used and whether sanctions accurately reflect genuine workplace misconduct.

For employers, the issue concerns the right to apply disciplinary measures when workplace rules are breached and the need to comply with the labour legislation and collective agreements.

What Workers Should Keep in Mind

A disciplinary letter does not automatically mean that an employee has committed the conduct described in it, nor does signing a document necessarily mean accepting its contents.

Workers can challenge disciplinary sanctions through the appropriate legal process, and claims against dismissal must normally be brought within 20 working days.

Keeping the original notice, recording the date and time of delivery and obtaining a copy can therefore be important should the matter later reach the labour authorities or courts.

The Debate Remains Open

CCOO says it is seeing between two and three disciplinary sanctions involving workers per day and believes some businesses are using them as a route towards dismissals without severance.

The Federación Empresarial Hotelera de las Pitiusas disputes that allegation, says it has not identified a systematic accumulation of sanctions in the hotel sector and is calling for concrete cases to be provided.

For now, the dispute remains a clash between the union's reported experience through its legal services and the employers' federation's denial of a generalised pattern. Individual cases, where challenged, will ultimately have to be assessed according to the facts, the applicable collective agreement and Spanish labour law.