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For Years, No One Noticed His Absence. A Public Employee in Spain Went Six Years Without Showing Up for Work and Was Almost Honored for His Alleged Dedication. The Case Only Came to Light When the Award Was About to Be Delivered.
In 2016, an unusual case caught attention in the city of Cádiz, Spain. The public employee Joaquín García, 69, was fined €27,000 (approximately R$ 120,000 at the time) for having missed work for six years without being noticed.
Unexpected Discovery
García’s prolonged absence was only noticed when he was about to be honored for completing 20 years of service.
The vice mayor of Cádiz tried to locate him to organize the delivery of the commemorative plaque, but no one in the office knew where he was.
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Position Without Duties
García worked as a supervisor at a water treatment plant. During the trial, he claimed he was intentionally assigned to a position with no real duties.
According to the newspaper El Mundo, the employee stated that this situation was retaliation for his family’s political positions.
Despite the justifications, the Spanish courts decided to impose the fine.
The amount is equivalent to one year’s salary, after taxes and charges are deducted. The decision was formalized in 2016, a year after García retired.
Lack of Clear Supervision
A miscommunication between local authorities and the water company may have allowed the absence to last so long.
The company believed García was supervised by public agencies. Meanwhile, local authorities thought the responsibility lay with the water treatment company.
The company’s own manager stated that he had not seen García for years, even though their offices are nearby.
During that time, family members reported that García still went to the office occasionally, but did not complete his full shift.
Instead, he spent his time reading philosophy books. The employee reported that he avoided reporting his situation for fear of losing his family’s livelihood and the difficulty of finding a new job at his age.
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