French Woman Sues Company for Paying Her Without Work. (Representational Image)
A French woman sued her employer for not assigning any work for 20 years despite paying her full salary. Laurence Van Wassenhove, who is disabled has decided to file a lawsuit against telecom giant 'Orange,' claiming that she has been a victim of harassment and discrimination on the basis of her health condition according to VN Express.
Before Orange took over the company in 1993, Wassenhove was employed by France Telecom. The company was aware of her physical constraints, including epilepsy and one side of her body paralysis. Due to this, she was offered a suitable role for her.
Until 2002, when she requested a transfer to another region in France, she worked as a secretary and in human resources.
But Orange refused to make any adjustments. Rather, she received her entire pay, but she was not given any tasks. According to Wassenhove, this was done in an attempt to force her to leave the company without firing her directly.
According to The Sun, the lady claimed that getting paid to not do any work might seem like a dream to many but it is very hard to bear.
She filed a complaint to the government and the High Authority in 2015, over the Fight against Discrimination. Orange then appointed a mediator to settle the dispute. Wassenhove asserts that even after this, her circumstances did not improve.
She said, “Being paid, at home, not working is not a privilege. It's very hard to bear.”
David Nabet-Martin, lawyer of Wassenhove also claimed that due to the isolation, she got into depression.
On the other hand, Orange asserts that it had taken all reasonable steps to ensure, she works in a better condition. The telecom giant claimed to have developed "a return to work in adapted position" policy for Wassenhove after considering her "personal social situation," but this policy was never implem ented because she was frequently absent due to illness.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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