Italian Hospital Worker Allegedly Skipped Work On Full Pay For 15 Years

Talk about taking paid time off.

A hospital employee in southern Italy has allegedly played hooky from work ― on full pay ― for 15 years.

The man, now 67, reportedly raked in around $645,000 during his unauthorized leave, per the BBC.

The civil servant was reassigned to work as a safety officer at the Pugliese Ciaccio hospital in Catanzaro in 2005, reported The Guardian.

But he didn’t show up and then threatened the hospital’s director against writing up his absence. When the director retired, the man’s no-show continued for a decade and a half. It only came to light during a police probe into absenteeism in the public sector.

The man now faces charges of abuse of office, forgery and extortion. Six of his colleagues are also under investigation over their possible roles in his ruse, reported the ANSA news agency.

In 2016, a building supervisor in Cadiz, Spain, was found to have skipped work for six years. Joaquín García was only busted when he was flagged to receive an award for 20 years of service.

Two local government employees in nearby Jerez de la Frontera, meanwhile, were in the same year found to have not worked for 15 years each.