The Supreme Court declared legitimate a worker's dismissal for fraudulent simulation of a sick leave.

The ruling stated that ''the performance of other work by the employee on sick leave, may justify the dismissal by the employer, in relation to the violation of the duties of correctness, good faith and specific contractual obligations of diligence and loyalty”.

In this case, the employee was discovered by a private investigator, while performing work on the roof and in the courtyard of his own home when he was absent from work due to illness.

The Court of Appeals declared legitimate the use, by the employer, of a detective agency to verify the reliability of the medical certificate, and of pictures and video proving absence of illness, or non-suitability of the same to determine a state of inability to work and justify the absence of the worker. The Court, after examining the photographs and the video, noted that the employee had done severe work activities, requiring physical effort not minor than that typical of the work performed for the employing company, thus making unjustifiable his prolonged absence due to illness.

The worker appealed the Court ruling, but was rejected for reasons of groundlessness, and sentenced to pay the expenses, professional fees, plus the reimbursement of general expenses and legal charges.