The six-year absence of a Spanish civil servant from his post was only noticed when he became eligible for a long-service award, it’s emerged.
Advertisement
His fine was equivalent to one year’s salary after tax and was the most that the company could legally reclaim, reported the BBC.
Mr Garcia’s associates also said that he did go to work at the office, although not always just working hours.
Cathedrals and grand facades rise above the skyline in Cadiz, south western Spain, where a water company worker skipped work for years unnoticed.
Mr Garcia, who has apparently gone into hiding because of the publicity, denies the allegations.
The 69-year-old, whose job was to supervise the building of a waste water treatment plant, has since retired.
He can require a review of the judgement, and has written to the mayor requesting not to need to pay the fine.
Spanish newspapers have dubbed him “el funcionario fantasma” – the phantom official.
The ruling says the employee of a city-owned water utility didn’t appear at the office for up to six years and “did absolutely no work” from 2007 to 2010 prior to his retirement in 2011.
His employers at the water company believed he was being supervised by local authorities while deputy mayor Jorge Blas Fernandez thought the opposite to be true. Those close to him said he was moved to the job because of political differences and found no work to be done there.
Advertisement
Mr García insisted he had turned up for work but, finding there was no work to do, spent the time learning about the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza.
