Spanish court orders H&M to stop staff bag and locker searches

H and M Hennes and Mauritz AB

27/07/2026 15:34

MADRID, July 27 (Reuters) - Spain's High Court ordered H&M HMb.ST to immediately halt daily bag inspections of last-shift workers and monthly random locker searches, ruling on Monday that they violated employees' privacy rights.
The court, ruling on a lawsuit brought by trade unions UGT and CCOO, found H&M failed to prove losses from employee theft justified the intrusive controls.
     
• H&M declined to comment on the ruling. 
• The court found H&M could not quantify losses attributable to employee theft and distinguish them from external theft, supplier fraud or administrative errors.
• Just six workers out of a total staff of around 4,600 have been dismissed for theft-related offences over the past three years, the court noted.
• The court said security arches at staff exits would be a less invasive alternative achieving the same anti-theft objective.
• Locker searches, conducted once a month at random, were deemed "preventive and intimidatory" rather than a response to any proven need to protect company assets.

 (Reporting by Emma Pinedo; Additional reporting by Corina Pons; Editing by Joe Bavier)
 ((emma.pinedo@thomsonreuters.com; +34 918 35 68 34;))