Andorra Court Orders SAAS to Pay €367K to Ex-Hospital Emergencies Chief for Unfair Dismissal

**Andorra's Superior Court Orders SAAS to Pay Nearly €367,000 to Former Hospital Emergencies Chief for Unfair Dismissal**

Andorra's Superior Court of Justice has upheld a lower court ruling declaring the dismissal of Dr. Josep Francesc Gómez Jiménez, long-time head of emergencies at Hospital Nostra Senyora de Meritxell, as unfair. The civil chamber's decision, notified on Thursday, requires the Andorran Health Care Service (SAAS) to pay him a total of €366,976.43, including a main indemnity of €348,939, plus €18.49 for unused vacation and €18,018.94 for pending extraordinary payments. Legal interest will accrue on top.

The ruling ends a dispute dating back to September 2018, when SAAS formally dismissed Gómez Jiménez, an internal medicine specialist, on disciplinary grounds. The public entity accused him of irregularities in managing intellectual property rights for the hospital's triage system, which he had helped develop. Tensions arose over patents and exploitation rights, leading to his removal after over two decades in public health.

Both the Batllia court and the Superior Court focused on timing, ruling that SAAS knew of the alleged facts years earlier. Under labor law, very serious offenses prescribe after 60 days from the employer's awareness. The tribunals found this period long exceeded by the 2018 dismissal notice, invalidating the sanction. They rejected SAAS's claim of ongoing misconduct, noting specific incidents like registrations or rights transfers were time-bound and could not be extended to evade prescription.

The final amount, slightly adjusted upward from the first-instance award, accounts for a reviewed 2018 daily salary of €387 and other dues. It falls short of Gómez Jiménez's initial claim exceeding €523,000. The firm, enforceable sentence also requires SAAS to cover part of the court costs, without delving into the merits of the accusations.

This outcome reinforces that public employers must act within legal deadlines to impose discipline, marking a significant labor case in Andorra's health sector.