In Spain, one civil servant decided to take extended leave, and by “extended,” I mean he decided to skip work for six years. By “leave,” he was paid because nobody even noticed his absence. However, his eligibility for a long-service award would prove to be his undoing.
Joaquin Garcia was a 69-year-old building supervisor for a waste water treatment plant; he has since retired. He claims that he was the victim of bullying because of his family’s political leanings. He was paid 37,000 euros a year, for the six years he was absent. The company could only legally claim one year of his after-tax salary; with the court ordering Garcia to pay a 27,000 euro fine.
Garcia’s employer had not seen him for years, yet his suspicions were not aroused despite the fact that his office was positioned just opposite Garcia’s. The water company apparently believed that local officials were in charge of Garcia, while the local officials thought that the company was in charge of him.
El Mundo Newspaper reported that Garcia’s employer did not wish to report Garcia’s absence – worried that he had to feed his family, and would have trouble finding a job at 69 years of age. It was also reported that Garcia allegedly still went to office, but not for his full stipulated hours.
Instead, he read philosophy and became an “expert on the philosopher Spinoza”. Quite the moral quagmire.
Sources: BBC, Independent, The Guardian
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