Valencia court upholds €25,000 fine on catering firm over female-only headbands

The ruling

The Sala de lo Social of the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de la Comunidad Valenciana (TSJCV) has confirmed a €25,000 fine imposed on a Valencia catering company for requiring its female employees to wear a cap or headband. The court held that the requirement amounted to discrimination on grounds of sex because it applied only to women. Its ruling of 22 September 2026, reported on 4 November, rejected the company's appeal and left the facts found by the lower court unchanged. The judges concluded that the garment was imposed only on women and lacked any objective justification. One report names the firm as Servicios Logísticos de Catering SL.

How the case began

The company added the extra garment to its mandatory uniform in July 2022, and the item was reserved for female staff. In January 2023 the Labour Inspectorate drew up an infraction report classifying the conduct as a very serious offence. The Generalitat Valenciana's directorate general for Labour, Welfare and Occupational Safety confirmed the breach and fined the firm €25,000. According to the union UGT, 18 employees who refused to wear the headband were suspended from work and pay for 14 days. The timeline of the case is shown below.

First-instance judgment and reversal

In May 2025 Valencia's Social Court No. 13 dismissed the company's challenge and upheld the sanction. The judge found the imposition unjustified and a direct sex discrimination, a very serious offence under article 8.12 of the Law on Social Order Infractions and Sanctions. The court also noted that the company had sanctioned 18 female employees for refusing to wear the headband at three gala events. Days later, after being summoned to appear before the Labour Inspectorate, the company reversed course, annulled those sanctions and told the works council that the garment would no longer be used for the time being.

Appeal to the high court

The company still appealed the first-instance judgment in suplicación before the TSJCV's Social Chamber. The high court rejected that appeal in its ruling of 22 September 2026, without changing the facts the lower court had found proven. Because the appeal reviewed the same record, the fine and the discrimination finding stand as the regional court's final word on the case. The public reporting of the ruling on 4 November is the first wide notice of the decision.