[France] Employee ordered to do nothing for 20 years at full pay sues ex-employer

In France, a woman who was ordered to do no work for her employer while being paid in full for two decades. is now suing for harassment and discrimination, Daily Mail reports.

Ex-Orange mobile employee Laurence Van Wassenhove may have been living some people's dream by getting paid to do nothing, but she claims it’s “very hard to bear.”

Ms Laurence has reportedly been paid her full salary for the past 20 years while doing no work for them, but she says she can no longer bear being excluded from work, despite Orange adapting her role for her disability.

The trained HR assistant suffers from severe health issues, including epilepsy and hemiplegia, a paralysis that only affects one side of the body, meaning she could not go to work.

Ms Laurence was employed as a civil servant by Orange, previously known as France-Télécom. However, she was offered a secretary position to accommodate her health needs.

She requested a transfer to another region of France in 2002, after the company was taken over by Orange, and states that this is where her two-decade-long work issues began.

Orange reportedly conducted an occupational medicine report, which confirmed the position was not suitable for her. They put Ms Laurence on standby, then on sick leave, before eventually offering her retirement due to her disability.

However, the company continued to retain her as an employee and paid her full salary while she was not assigned any work to do.

Ms Laurence is a mother of two. She calls herself “an outcast secretary” and claims that Orange took the actions it did to push her to quit her job.

She further alleges that in 2015, following her complaint to the government and the High Authority for the Fight against Discrimination, a mediator appointed by Orange was mandated, yet little improved.

She stated that she feels herself wasting away being kept in her home: “Being paid, at home, not working is not a privilege. It’s very hard to bear.”

Ms Laurence’s lawyer, David Nabet-Martin, claims she suffers from depression due to her severe and isolating circumstances.

Mr Nabet-Martin said, “Work, for a person with a disability, means having a place in society. Recognition. Social connections that are created.”

In a statement to French newspaper La Dépêche, Orange reportedly said it had done everything to ensure Ms Laurence worked in the best conditions possible, adding that it had taken her “personal social situation” into account.

In addition, the company said, “a return to work in adapted position” was also planned but never happened as Ms Laurence was regularly on sick leave.

Source: Daily Mail

(Quotes via original reporting)

In France, a woman who was ordered to do no work for her employer while being paid in full for two decades. is now suing for harassment and discrimination, Daily Mail reports.

Ex-Orange mobile employee Laurence Van Wassenhove may have been living some people's dream by getting paid to do nothing, but she claims it’s “very hard to bear.”

Ms Laurence has reportedly been paid her full salary for the past 20 years while doing no work for them, but she says she can no longer bear being excluded from work, despite Orange adapting her role for her disability.

The trained HR assistant suffers from severe health issues, including epilepsy and hemiplegia, a paralysis that only affects one side of the body, meaning she could not go to work.

Ms Laurence was employed as a civil servant by Orange, previously known as France-Télécom. However, she was offered a secretary position to accommodate her health needs.

She requested a transfer to another region of France in 2002, after the company was taken over by Orange, and states that this is where her two-decade-long work issues began.

Orange reportedly conducted an occupational medicine report, which confirmed the position was not suitable for her. They put Ms Laurence on standby, then on sick leave, before eventually offering her retirement due to her disability.

However, the company continued to retain her as an employee and paid her full salary while she was not assigned any work to do.

Ms Laurence is a mother of two. She calls herself “an outcast secretary” and claims that Orange took the actions it did to push her to quit her job.

She further alleges that in 2015, following her complaint to the government and the High Authority for the Fight against Discrimination, a mediator appointed by Orange was mandated, yet little improved.

She stated that she feels herself wasting away being kept in her home: “Being paid, at home, not working is not a privilege. It’s very hard to bear.”

Ms Laurence’s lawyer, David Nabet-Martin, claims she suffers from depression due to her severe and isolating circumstances.

Mr Nabet-Martin said, “Work, for a person with a disability, means having a place in society. Recognition. Social connections that are created.”

In a statement to French newspaper La Dépêche, Orange reportedly said it had done everything to ensure Ms Laurence worked in the best conditions possible, adding that it had taken her “personal social situation” into account.

In addition, the company said, “a return to work in adapted position” was also planned but never happened as Ms Laurence was regularly on sick leave.

Source: Daily Mail

(Quotes via original reporting)