French Woman Sues European Telecom Giant For Paying Salary For 20 Years. Here's Why

A French woman sued European telecommunications giant Orange, formerly known as France Telecom, for paying her salary for two decades

A French woman sued European telecommunications giant Orange, formerly known as France Telecom, for paying her salary for two decades

Source : Freepik

In a rather bizzare incident, a French woman sued European telecommunications giant Orange, formerly known as France Telecom, for paying her salary for two decades. However, she was being paid for the last twenty years without being assigned any work, which led her to file a lawsuit against the giant.

Here's Why She Sued Her Employer

Laurence Van Wassenhove claimed that she was actually "shelved by the company after she forwarded her request for a transfer due to her disability in 2002. The French woman suffers from partial paralysis and epilepsy, and was hired in 1993 by Orange's predeccor, France Telecom. Due to her health conditions, she requested that she be trasferred to a different branch that was located within France, Times of India reported.

Initially, after being hired, Wassenhove held roles that she could perform despite her diabilities, such as human resources positions and secretary.

Although the company approved her request, the new workspace where she was transferred did not adapt to her needs, her lawyers said, as reported by TOI.

Furthermore, the company, rather than offering her a suitable alterantive in tasks, allegedly stopped assigning any tasks to her, which left her without work. However, the company continued credited her full salary for the last 20 years.

Wassenhove claimed that being paid without any duties to fulfil caused her moral harassment and isolated her professionally, the report noted. 

She further argued that this situation led to a loss of her professional purpose, which led to severe depression.

According to a British tabloid, The Sun, Van Wasshenhove said that "being paid at home. not working is not a privilege. It's very hard to bear."

How The Company Responded

The telecom giant, after the lawsuit, maintained that its actions were appropriate.

Orange also claimed that they explored varipus options for Wassenhove to "return to work in an adapted position," taking into account her medical condition.

The company, however, said that the frequent sick leaves taken by her made the process difficult.

Wassenhove's lawyers claimed that the company failed to provide their client reasonable accomodations for her disability that forced her into a state of professional uncertainity, the TOI report said.

The complaint was filed by Wassenhove in 2015 before the government and the High Authority for the Fight against Discrimination. Following the complaint, Orange appointed a mediator in order to resolve the dispute, but the French woman stressed that her situation did not get any better, Economics Times reported.