Local Police officers in Alicante have won a legal battle against the National Institute of Social Security (INSS), which will benefit all temporary policemen in the Valencian Community and potentially the whole of Spain.
The Professional Union (SPPLB) has received an important legal verdict from the Valencian Community’s High Court of Justice, which confirms that time worked as a temporary employee must be counted as effective retirement time, matching it to the position of career government officials.
Officers who complete the minimum years of service can now retire early at the age of 59.
Roberto is a police officer, and the courts denied his request for early retirement because “his knowledge and work are not comparable.”
Although the case was brought by members of Novelda, the legal precedent has the potential to affect hundreds of workers across Spain, as it has substantial doctrinal importance for other higher courts and the INSS itself throughout the country.
According to Francisco Ángel González, regional secretary of FESEP-SPPLB, “With this ruling, everyone who files a claim will win, because a court like the TSJCV has already ruled in their favour.”
Recognising that years as a temporary employee count towards the reduction coefficients for local police officers before Social Security establishes a strong precedent that other temporary employees of local police forces can use in their claims and demands to ensure that these periods are considered valid years of service for the purposes of early retirement.
González emphasises that excessive temporary employment is frequent in the Administration, despite legislation limiting an employee’s temporary status to three years. He claims that there is a significant percentage of temporary workers due to selection processes for career civil servants, with some remaining in all localities. If you’ve been there for a year, that year doesn’t count, and if you’ve been there for three years, that time isn’t counted toward retirement,” he says.
Although the legal maximum for temporary employees is three years, González claims that “Unfortunately, in many places in Spain, the law is ignored and years continue to pass while the position is not filled through the proper procedure.”
The SPPLB has fought for equality between temporary and career civil servants for years, and this resolution marks a legal win.The verdict clarifies that what is important is not the nature of the administrative link, but the proper performance of a task that is particularly difficult, risky, and demanding from a psychophysical standpoint, such as police work,” the union said.
The SPPLB claimed that the INSS’s treatment of temporary workers was “discriminatory” since it denied them rights that it recognises for career civil officers, despite the fact that the functions and dangers were identical.
Author: Derek Appleton
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