The High Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) has issued a ruling that brings relief to a career civil servant and emergency technician, overturning the one-month suspension imposed on him by the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy. The ruling, dated March 20, 2026, dismisses the charge of "very serious misconduct" due to incompatibility against the public employee, who had been awarded several minor contracts in municipalities such as Mogán.
The administrative dispute arose when the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) discovered that the civil servant, assigned to the Provincial Directorate of Las Palmas, had signed a series of technical assistance contracts for security consulting and emergency plans with various entities between 2018 and 2020, including the Mogán City Council, the Gran Canaria Emergency Consortium, and the public company Gesplan. The central government argued that these activities with the public sector were not covered by his authorization for private sector compatibility.
However, the Administrative Court has ruled in favor of the plaintiff, represented by lawyers Patricia Marín Pulido and Carlos Santana Santana. The court emphasizes that Gerardo had a valid authorization, in place since 2015, to work as a self-employed "security and crisis management consultant." The ruling stresses that the activities he carried out for the Mogán town council and other institutions were of a professional and private nature, and it was not demonstrated that they undermined his duties at the SEPE (State Public Employment Service) or compromised his impartiality.
The judges have been particularly critical of the "blank rule" used by the Ministry to impose sanctions. The ruling emphasizes that the Administration failed to provide objective evidence of harm or damage to the public service. "The burden of proof rests entirely with the Administration," notes the presiding judge, Ángel Novoa Fernández, pointing out that generic assessments of "deterioration of the service" or "damage to the institutional image" are insufficient grounds for suspending an official.
The High Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) concluded that, since the contracts were minor and carried out as a self-employed worker with no direct connection to the civil servant's assigned department (the SEPE benefits office), Gerardo's conduct was protected by law. With this ruling, the court overturned the April 2022 decision and ordered that all consequences of the imposed sanction be nullified, clarifying that providing technical support to municipalities like Mogán does not, in itself, constitute an infraction if there is a previously recognized compatibility.
