Someday we all might have fantasised about taking an extended vacation from work. Nonetheless, we work hard to get those pleasant days of independence. However, a Spanish civil servant took a six-year leave from employment. Can you believe it?
The man missed work for six years, avoiding all duties and going unnoticed while getting his monthly salary. His six-year absence from work came to light just as he was ready to receive an honor for his service.
In 2010, the corporation wanted to recognize the employee for his lengthy tenure with the organization. According to the Economic Times, in 1990, Joaquin Garcia started working as a plant superintendent for a municipal water company in Cadiz, Spain. He was able to avoid work by taking advantage of a miscommunication between his managers at a water firm. The two departments assumed the other was in charge of monitoring Joaquín's work.
Joaquin received his entire $41,500 (Rs 36 lakh) annual pay while enjoying a lengthy paid vacation. Jorge Blas Fernandez, who hired Garcia and served as Cadiz's deputy mayor from 1995 to 2015, stated, "We assumed the water corporation was supervising him, but that was not the case." "We found out just as we were about to present him with a commemorative plaque for his 20 years of service," The Guardian said.
Jorge Blas, Cadiz's deputy mayor, was tasked with locating the employee. When Blas caught Joaquín, he was unable to provide a clear explanation for his absence from work.
Blas described the unpleasant conversation: "I asked myself if he was still working there, if he had retired, or if he had died. However, his paycheck indicated that he was still being paid," stated the Times of India.
Speaking on Garcia's behalf, his lawyer allegedly blamed his absence on bullying at work. In addition, he mentioned that there was nothing to do at the location.
Garcia's close acquaintances told El Mundo that he preferred to read philosophy rather than expose the bullying because he feared losing his job.
Finally, a court ruled in favor of the government, imposing a punishment for his six-year absence from work. Joaquín was fined $30,000 (about Rs 25 lakh), which is equivalent to one year's income after taxes.
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