Andorra Waitress Sentenced to Nighttime Arrest for €409 Theft Despite Repayment

A woman working at a restaurant in Andorra has been sentenced to one month of firm nighttime arrest for theft amounting to less than €600, aggravated by breach of trust, despite notifying her superior and repaying the money.

The incident occurred in March 2024, when the woman used her employee keys to enter the establishment outside working hours. She took €408.90 from the cash register float without permission or explanation, and failed to show up for her shifts in the following days.

Four days later, she messaged her boss, informing him she had taken the cash and asking him to deduct it from her final paycheck. The superior recovered the full amount during her settlement upon leaving the job and did not file a complaint.

Prosecutors argued the actions still constituted theft through abuse of trust, citing the circumstances and the woman's prior record. They sought two months of nighttime arrest.

Her defense countered that the message to the superior effectively acknowledged the act, and his deduction of the sum from her pay amounted to acceptance of the situation.

Judges at the Tribunal de Corts rejected this, ruling that entering without prior consent and taking the money triggered criminal liability. They noted the later notification and repayment did not excuse the offense. The woman received a one-month nighttime arrest sentence and must cover court costs.