The Superior Court of Justice (TSJ) of the Canary Islands has ruled in favor of a worker from whom the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) demanded the return of more than 22,800 euros collected from the subsidy for those over 52 years of age. The agency dependent on the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy considered that the affected person did not comply with the requirements as she was, at the same time, collecting a permanent disability pension.
The Chamber concludes that the error in granting the aid was exclusively that of the administration and has ruled out that the woman has to return that amount. The case happened in November 2020 when the worker requested the subsidy. Then he already announced that he was receiving monthly income, including the total permanent disability pension, which amounted to 611 euros per month.
Despite this, the SEPE granted him the benefit that was renewed in the following years. In March 2023, following a report from the INSS (National Social Security Institute), the SEPE detected that the beneficiary did not meet the required contribution requirements as she was using those contributions for her disability pension.
Then, it opened a review procedure demanding the return of 12,802 euros initially, a figure that in the judicial process was expanded to more than 17,000 euros.
It was an improper charge but you will not have to return the money
The lower court ruling has already declared the money received for the subsidy as improper collection, annulling the administrative resolutions that granted it. But he exempted the worker from returning the money. The TSJ has confirmed this criterion, rejecting the SEPE’s appeal.
He stressed that the beneficiary did not hide information or act with fraud or bad faith because from the first moment she communicated that she was receiving a permanent disability pension and complied with the formal obligations of submitting income tax returns and providing documentation.
The worker had received a total of 22,882.10 euros in subsidies between the month of November 2020 and November 2024.
An error attributable to the administration
The resolution is based on the Cakarevic doctrine established by the European Court of Human Rights and adopted by the Supreme Court, which limits the return of benefits when the error is exclusively attributable to the administration.
Justice points out that demanding reimbursement in this case would place a disproportionate burden on the beneficiary since it is aid intended to cover basic needs and the amounts received were low and would probably be intended for subsistence.
The ruling reminds that the administration should not pass on to the citizen the consequences of its errors when there is no fraud or data has been hidden. The revocation of the benefit could be applied in the future but not with retroactive effects.
This resolution is not final and can be appealed in cassation before the Supreme Court.