Meet The Spanish Man Who Enjoyed 6 Years Of Vacation While Getting Full Salary
His long absence from work for six years came to light just when he was about to be awarded for his long service.
We all have dreamt of having a prolonged vacation from work. We nonetheless work hard to obtain the delightful days of freedom. But a Spanish civil servant had the ultimate vacation from his workplace for six years. Can you believe it?
The man skipped work for six years, shirked all responsibilities, and went unnoticed while receiving his pay cheque every month. His long absence from work for six years came to light just when he was about to be awarded for his long service.
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In 2010, the company wanted to award the employee for his long service in the organisation. According to the Times, in 1990, Joaquin Garcia began working as a plant supervisor for a municipal water firm in Cadiz, Spain. He was able to dodge work by taking advantage of a mix-up between his bosses at a water company. The two departments presumed the other was responsible for monitoring Joaquín’s work.
This led Joaquín to receive his full $41,500 (Rs 36 lakh) yearly salary while having a very long paid vacation. Jorge Blas Fernandez, who had hired Garcia and was Cadiz city’s deputy mayor from 1995 to 2015, said, “We thought the water company was supervising him, but that was not the case. We found out when we were about to present him with a commemorative plaque for 20 years of service," reported The Guardian.
Cádiz’s deputy mayor, Jorge Blas, got the responsibility to locate the employee. When Blas eventually caught Joaquín, the employee didn’t have a concrete explanation for why he hadn’t performed any work. Blas recalled the uncomfortable dialogue, “I asked myself if he was still working there, if he had retired, if he had died. But his payroll indicated he was still getting paid," reported Times of India.
Speaking on Garcia’s behalf, his lawyer allegedly laid the blame for his absence on bullying at work. In addition to this, he also stated that there was nothing to do at the place.
Garcia’s close associates informed El Mundo that he chose to focus on reading philosophy rather than reporting the bullying because he was afraid of losing his job.
Ultimately, a court decided in favour of the government and imposed a fine for his six-year absence from work. Joaquín was fined with a penalty of $30,000 (almost Rs 25 lakh), the equivalent after tax of one year of his annual salary.
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