The owner of a peach planation in Calasparra must pay the widow and children of worker who died during his half hour lunch break,the Regional Superior Tribunal has ruled.
The owner had refused to make any payment to the worker because he died during a “break” from work but the court has ruled that the half hour sandwich break was included in “work hours.”
The incident happened during March 2011 while the deceased was working at the peach plantation. The Judge ruled that he died during his break following three and a half hours of work and that, although he may have suffered from a heart condtion before his death, he could not discount the possiblity that the stress and the physical component of his work aggravated his condtion.
The Tribnal ruled “nothing stops a rest break during a work day also being considered work time and that the existence of a work accident was based on the presumption that he was working
