Picture this: you’re relaxing on your holiday like there’s no tomorrow. No worries, just recharging your batteries.
And suddenly you’re being dragged back into work chats. That’s because your bosses added you to a WhatsApp group using your personal phone number without your permission.
That’s exactly what happened to a Spanish woman, and it just cost her employer a lot of money.
The woman insisted no to be contacted
The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) has just fined LVMH Iberia, a cosmetics company, for adding one of its employees to a work-related WhatsApp group during her holiday.
The company used her private phone number, despite her explicit request not to be contacted.
The woman had made it clear to her bosses: she didn’t want her personal number to be used for work anymore. She even sent an email to her managers, informing them she was stepping away from all WhatsApp groups before starting her vacation.
In that mail, she said she’d only rejoin once she received a work phone (which, by the way, was promised by the company, but never delivered).
Company excuses didn’t work
But just one day later, while enjoying her time off, she was added to a new company WhatsApp group. And she stayed in that group until June 28, 2023, the day she was fired. After that, she took her complaint to the AEPD.
The company tried to defend itself, claiming that using WhatsApp was a “non-intrusive” way to organise tasks, and that the employee hadn’t clearly requested a permanent removal from the chats.
They also said using personal phones was “exceptional,” not standard.
But the data protection authority wasn’t having it. They ruled that the company had no legal right to use the worker’s number without her consent, and even worse, violated her right to disconnect during holidays — something that’s protected under Spanish labour law.
The AEPD found two major violations:
- Using her personal data without consent (a breach of GDPR Article 6.1).
- Failing to respect her digital disconnection rights.
Consent isn’t optional — and she said no
The ruling emphasised that consent must be freely given, informed, and revocable. And none of that happened here. The employee made her wishes clear, and the company ignored them.
The original fine was set at €70,000, but was later reduced to €42,000 after the company admitted fault and paid early.
The agency didn’t stop at the fine. It also ordered LVMH Iberia to revamp its internal communication policies, and ensure that apps like WhatsApp are only used via company devices, not personal ones.
The case sends a clear message: just because an app is convenient, doesn’t make it appropriate to pressure employees, especially when it crosses personal boundaries.