Woman sues employer for making her do no work for 20 years, and still paying her
Laurence Van Wassenhove was paid her full salary for twenty years but was made to do no work whatsoever by her employer. She has filed a complaint against her employer, telecom giant Orange.
Just imagine getting paid for doing nothing. Not just for a day or two, but for a full twenty years! Sounds like the stuff of dreams, right? Well, not exactly if your name is Laurence Van Wassenhove, who was paid her full salary for twenty years but was made to do no work whatsoever by her employer. The French woman has filed a complaint against her employer, telecom giant Orange, accusing them of ¡°moral harassment and discrimination at work.¡±
Was suffering from a medical condition
According to her complaint, Wassenhove, who was suffering from hemiplegia, which results in severe or complete loss of strength leading to paralysis on one side of the body, was recruited as a civil servant by France Telecom in 1993. Due to her condition, she was offered a position adapted to her medical needs, and she worked as a secretary and in the HR department until 2002. The company was later taken over by Orange, and things changed when she requested a transfer to another region of France.
Also read: Employees Are Growing Bananas At Their Desks To Deal With Workplace Stress
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Getting pid without doing anything
While it was approved, her new workplace was not adapted to her needs, and an occupational medicine report confirmed that the position was not suited for her.
However, Orange continued to employ her and paid her full salary for the next twenty years while she was not assigned any work.
Company failed to address her needs
According to Wassenhove, this was the company's way of pushing her to quit her job. The woman further alleged 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 to resolve the situation, but things didn¡¯t improve at all.
Also read: 'It's Just A Trap': Man Points Out Unnecessary 'Family' Culture At Workplaces
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What Orange said
Responding to the allegations, Orange told La D¨¦p¨ºche that it had done everything to ensure that the woman worked in the best conditions possible. The company also claimed to have taken the woman¡¯s ¡°personal social situation¡± into account and to have paid her the full salary continuously, plus several non-refundable aids.
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