The Administrative Litigation Court No. 3 of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has forced the capital’s City Council to grant a 50% reduction in working hours to a local police officer to be able to care for her son, affected by serious psychiatric illness due to severe autism.
The pioneering ruling, which sets a precedent, confirms not only the City Council’s obligation to comply with the Law of the Basic Statute of Public Employees – which regulates leave for the care of a minor child affected by cancer or another serious illness, where the official will have the right, provided that both parents work, to a reduction in the working day, receiving full remuneration charged to the budgets of the body where they provide their services – but also condemns the Corporation to pay costs.
The plaintiff, Beatriz MG, explained to DIARIO DE AVISOS that her fight has lasted two years, from November 2, 2021 to mid-October 2023, the date on which she was able to begin the job reduction requested after the appeals filed by the legal services of the City Council to the first sentence, dated July 24, 2023.
A long battle against the Corporation’s Human Resources area, whose boss (already retired) decided to dismiss Beatriz’s request in 2021. “At that time there were technicians who did want to support her, since she was covered by reports that supported the serious psychiatric illness due to severe autism and behavioral disorder of my son, who is now 11 years old. But the refusal of the person in charge of the human resources area, who recognized the illness but alleged that the child was attending school and, therefore, did not substantiate my request, led me to go to court with the support of the Asipal police union,” commented the affected.
Once the case reached the courts, in July a ruling was handed down in favor of Beatriz, but the City Council appealed, until finally the judge handed down a final ruling, exhausting the administrative route for any other appeal. On October 11, the municipal Human Resources Management Service announced that it accepted the ruling.
Beatriz commented that her request originated when she was transferred from Unipol to operations, having new work shifts that prevented her from being able to care for her son during daylight hours. “My son is like a baby in a big body and needs not only specific care, but also specific feeding and therapy. Although my husband and my mother help me, it is my duty as a mother to take care of him,” she stressed.
She does not feel like a courageous mother, even though this long process has caused her episodes of anxiety. “I have had to fight and there is no choice but to become strong, but if my case serves to help other parents in similar situations, then it will have been worth it,” she stated.
For his part, Juan Pedro Cruz, general secretary of Asipal, added that “the union’s legal services, through a ruling, managed to annul and nullify the resolution of March 23, 2022 of the City Council Governing Board, in which this civil servant mother was denied a recognized right to care for her seriously ill son.”
Bad practice
Cruz indicated that “the minor with a recognized disability of 71% and degree III dependency needs direct and continuous care. The agent submitted the request to benefit from this right on November 29, 2021 and combine said care with the child’s father. But the City Council denied her with contradictory reports, so she was forced to report this trampling before the courts.
“The malpractice of the Administration in this case has finally had its reward and thanks to this pioneering ruling, the pace is set so that other officials know that they are not alone,” said Cruz.
Meanwhile, the Councilor for Human Resources of Santa Cruz, Purificación Dávila, said that the City Council “not only abides and respects the court ruling, but also shares it. The Police have already applied the reduction to the agent and have implemented measures so that she can make her family situation compatible with her work situation.
