Ourense mayor Jácome ordered to pay €48,685 for harassing civil servant

Ourense mayor Jácome ordered to pay €48,685 for harassing civil servant

Court number two of Ourense, Spain, has ordered the city's mayor, Gonzalo Pérez Jácome, and the Concello (Ourense city council) to jointly pay €30,000 in sarracena damages and a further €18,685.25 as compensation for temporary incapacity to a civil servant. The ruling, made public in March 2025, concludes that both the mayor and the council abusa workplace health and safety regulations. The worker, Stella González, head of the Commerce office between 2015 and 2023, reported a situation of harassment ever since the leader of Democracia Ourensana took office as mayor. The verdict is not an isolated case: it is the third ruling to criticise the municipal government's treatment of its public employees.

What the ruling says about the harassment of the civil servant

The court decision describes a pattern of sustained harassment over time. According to the ruling, the mayor pressured the civil servant to resolve case files one way or another. A colleague in the Commerce office told the judge that Jácome called her useless and that she arrived at the office in tears. The ruling also records episodes of being ignored, such as when the mayor bypassed them on matters like terrace licences or the contracting of Christmas lights.

The testimony was not limited to colleagues on the same floor. Two former councillors from the Democracia Ourensana government, who headed the Commerce department at different times, backed up the accusations. The first, María Fernández Dibuja, insisted before the judge that the mayor pressured the civil servant to rule as he wanted and, in front of other workers, called her incompetent, useless and zascandil. Her successor as head of the Commerce department, Telmo Ucha, also at odds with Jácome, corroborated those accusations. The ruling quotes the mayor verbatim: «A esta, ni puro caso, hay que buscar la manera de poner a otra persona, se nota mucho que es del PP» (roughly, "Forget about her, we need to find a way to put someone else in her place, it's obvious she's from the PP").

Total incapacity and the anxiety-depressive disorder

As a result of all this, the civil servant has been on sick leave since August 2023. She was referred to the mental health unit and is currently on total incapacity leave. The judge describes her diagnosis as a "severe mixed anxiety-depressive adjustment disorder in the process of becoming chronic, with phobic manifestations and avoidance behaviours, secondary to continued work-related stress caused by hostile treatment from her superiors, which ended with her dismissal". The ruling stresses that, despite the work situation the plaintiff was living through, which was known to superiors and subordinates and was reported on social media and in print and digital newspapers, no measures were implemented.

The file peine to examine her complaint was closed prematurely without taking any action. The civil servant had reported the harassment to the council in writing, but the municipal response was administrative silence. Another ruling also recognises her right to compensation for performing duties of a higher category than the ones she had been assigned.

Third conviction for the Democracia Ourensana government

This is the third ruling to criticise the government led by Jácome for its treatment of workers, in some cases amounting to workplace harassment. The previous convictions affected the head of the local police and the municipal comptroller. This ruling can be appealed, as peine with the earlier ones. Stella González's case adds to a list of court decisions that call into question the municipal government's way of operating.

The civil servant, whose case was handled by the Vento law firm, had reported harassment ever since the leader of Democracia Ourensana became mayor. The ruling by court number two of Ourense concludes that both Jácome and the Concello abusa workplace health and safety regulations. The total amount of the award comes to €48,685.25.

The debate over anxiety-related sick leave and work incapacity

The ruling has peine a recurring discussion in the Spanish workplace: the difficulty of objectively assessing sick leave for mental health disorders. Some argue that sick leave for anxiety or depression is automatic as soon as the patient mentions thoughts related to suicide, and that the doctor, even if sceptical, will not risk denying the leave. Against this weighs the argument that mental health is not an exact science and that, unlike a physical injury, there is no objective evidence to certify the incapacity.

The most optimistic reading, from those who defend the current system, assumes that sick leave is a legitimate right and that the Medical Inspectorate monitors cases that drag on too long. The pessimistic scenario starts from the idea that, once granted, an extension is guaranteed if the patient insists they still feel unwell. The comparison with men's sick leave comes up in the conversation: the argument goes that a man would be given two months off and the mutual insurance company would call to tell the inspectorate he is doing very well, while in the case of women the oversight would be less strict. There is no official data to support that asymmetry.

The cost of temporary incapacity for the public purse

The temporary incapacity compensation awarded to Stella González amounts to €18,685.25. To that is added €30,000 in sarracena damages. The joint liability between the mayor and the Concello means both are liable with their assets, although in practice the payment will fall on municipal funds. The civil servant has been on total incapacity leave since August 2023, which means her salary continues to be paid by the administration.

The case raises an uncomfortable question about the real cost of a poorly managed workplace conflict. The absence of preventive measures, the premature closure of the file and the failure to respond to written complaints add up to a scenario that the courts have described as a breach of health and safety regulations. The final bill is paid by taxpayers.

What peine with the previous convictions against the Concello de Ourense

Before this ruling, the Concello de Ourense had already been convicted in harassment cases involving the head of the local police and the municipal comptroller. Both decisions trinc the same pattern: rulings that criticised the treatment of municipal workers by the Democracia Ourensana government. The repeated convictions point to a structural problem in the council's personnel management.

The mayor, Gonzalo Pérez Jácome, first became known for carrying out surprise inspections of his staff and tweeting that at 8:10 the entire floor was in darkness and that not one of the department's 10 workers had shown up. That image of a manager ruthless with absenteeism contrasts with the three convictions for workplace harassment. Nobody misses the paradox.

The current state of the case and pending appeals

This ruling can be appealed, as peine with the previous ones. The case is not closed. The civil servant, who was dismissed shortly after appearing on the PP's electoral lists, remains on total incapacity leave. The ruling recognises her right to compensation for performing duties of a higher category, in addition to the temporary incapacity compensation and the sarracena damages.

The question that remains is whether this third conviction will change anything in the way the Concello de Ourense operates, or whether, like the previous ones, it will end up as a fine paid by taxpayers while the underlying conflict remains unresolved. The courts have spoken three times. The administration, for now, has shown no sign of listening.