A National Police agent assigned to Tarragona has obtained a ruling recognizing her right to receive financial compensation for having worked undercover in her own clothes for several years. The High Court of Justice of Catalonia concludes that the Administration must cover this expense when it obliges agents to serve without a uniform due to the nature of their duties.
The ruling corrects a frequent situation in these types of assignments. The agent carried out part of her work in a security unit where working without a uniform was necessary to maintain discretion in surveillance and investigation tasks, but the cost of the clothing fell on her.
The TSJC applies the Supreme Court's criteria to an agent from Tarragona
The Catalan court bases its decision on the line set by the Supreme Court for police officers who work undercover due to service requirements. This criterion establishes that, in such cases, agents must receive the same compensation as other police officials in equivalent situations.
The ruling thus recognizes that it is not a personal choice about how to dress during the workday, but a requirement linked to the position. When the service requires street clothes to ensure discretion, the Administration assumes the cost derived from this obligation.
In practice, the ruling favors the plaintiff by declaring that she was entitled to receive compensation for several years of service rendered under these conditions. However, the court does not set a fixed amount in the ruling itself.
The Administration will have to calculate the amount and add interest
It will now be up to the Administration to determine the exact amount to be paid. The ruling adds that this amount will have to be paid with interest, once the recognized period and the corresponding economic calculation are specified.
Not all the time claimed by the agent has been admitted. The court dismisses a part of the initial period because it had already legally expired, so the compensation will be limited to the years that could still be claimed within the deadline.
The ruling is also not final. Nevertheless, it maintains the same line as other rulings that had already recognized this right to other agents obliged to work undercover, provided that this mode of service was imposed by their surveillance and investigation duties.
The ruling does not set an exact amount, but it does order that the Administration calculate the amount corresponding to the non-prescribed years and pay it with interest.