Ono Kosuki
Imagine being able to remain at home for six years, receiving your full salary, while your absence goes unnoticed by your employer. This scenario became a reality for Joaquin Garcia, a Spanish civil servant, whose situation only came to public attention in 2010, coinciding with the day his employer intended to honor him for two decades of service.
Garcia had been employed since 1990 as a plant supervisor at a municipal water company in Cadiz, Spain. However, as reported by the BBC, a significant bureaucratic error allowed him to slip through the system.
Two departments mistakenly assumed that the other was overseeing his attendance, which enabled Garcia to completely avoid work while still collecting his full annual salary of $41,500 (approximately Rs 36 lakh).
This oversight went unnoticed for several years until Jorge Blas Fernandez, who served as Cadiz’s deputy mayor from 1995 to 2015, decided to award Garcia a plaque commemorating his 20 years of service. It was at this moment that the reality of the situation began to emerge.
“We believed the water company was keeping track of him, but that was not the case. We only found out when we were about to present him with a plaque for 20 years of service,” Blas explained to The Guardian.
Blas then sought to find Garcia, only to make the shocking discovery that no one had seen him in the office for years. “I wondered if he was still employed there, if he had retired, or if he had passed away. Yet, his payroll records indicated that he was still receiving payments,” he recounted.
In response to inquiries regarding his prolonged absence, Garcia provided no definitive rationale. His attorney subsequently asserted that he had experienced workplace bullying and, apprehensive about job security, opted to remain quiet.
As reported by El Mundo, individuals close to Garcia indicated that he devoted his time to reading philosophy rather than fulfilling his responsibilities.
Ultimately, the court rejected his defense and imposed a fine of $30,000 (around Rs 25 lakh), which corresponds to one year’s salary post-tax, for his six-year absence.
