A 37 year old man from Lleida, Miquel Mitjans, is taking legal action against the company where he was formerly employed for six years after being sacked for requesting paternity leave. "I'm convinced that they decided to punish me in this way to dissuade the rest of the staff, who are mostly young men, from doing the same thing," explained Miquel yesterday.

Miquel, who worked as an adminstrator, spoke to his boss after returning from holiday last August about the possibility of taking a further ten weeks off to be with his newborn baby, and was told that the company -Hierros del Mediterraneo SL- was very unhappy with his work, and no longer required his services, which, Miquel points out, is rather ironic as he was promoted and given a rise in salary less than two months previously. The case is being handled by Lleida provincial court, where an initial hearing will be held on the 3rd April next year.