Spanish man’s absence at work undetected for 6 years

A civil servant in Spain who managed to skip work for at least six years has been caught when he became eligible to receive an award for his service. Joaquin Garcia was fined €27,000 (AU$42,700) after his long absence was discovered.

The 69-year-old employee, dubbed “el funcionario fantasma” (the phantom official) by the Spanish media, was supposed to supervise the construction of a wastewater treatment plant. He was paid €37,000 (AU$58,400) per year by a water company run by local authorities. His boss told the court that he had not seen Garcia for years despite Garcia occupying an office just opposite his, BBC reports.

His absence was only noticed when the phantom official became eligible to receive an award for his 20 years of service. He was apparently able to get away with his long absence because the water company believed he was supervised by the local authorities in Cadiz, while the local authorities thought he was supervised by the water company.

A court ordered him to pay €27,000 fine, or the equivalent of his one year salary after taxes. That is the highest amount the water company could legally claim.

Garcia, who is contesting the fine, has denied the allegation, claiming to be a victim of political bullying. He said he was moved to a post where there was no work to be done after he was bullied due to his family’s politics. He was reluctant to report his situation as he feared he would lose his job and was worried he would not get another one.

It wasn’t also true that he did not go to the office for six years, he said. He went to work, but not for full business hours every day. Garcia dedicated his time to reading philosophy instead. His lawyer said he has since gone into hiding after his story was reported in the media.