The employee of a water utility owned by the Spanish city of Cadiz who had not appeared at office for up to six years and “did absolutely no work” but collected salary, was charged to pay back nearly $42,082 in wages because for years he actually didn’t work at all, reported the Associated Press.
It didn’t explain why the worker, who cannot be named under Spanish law, went undetected until his case was discovered in 2010 shortly before he was due to receive a plaque recognizing him for 20 years of service.
Cadiz city officials sought the penalty representing one year of the worker’s net pay, the maximum allowed. But the worker appealed, starting a legal battle that lasted more than five years until the court ruled against him recently. The case made headlines across Spain this week, and current Cadiz Deputy Mayor Martin Vila told reporters Friday he was amazed that “a person could be hired for years and collecting (pay) without doing anything whatsoever.”
