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You must battle for your right to abstain from partying.
A Frenchman who was dismissed for being “too dull” was vindicated by a court ruling that his previous employer’s notion of “fun” violated his constitutional rights. The Paris Court of Cassation issued the judgement earlier this month, but it was not made public until this week.
The unidentified employee, known as Mr. T, was a senior adviser for the Paris-based consulting business Cubik Partners, which is known for its “fun and professional” approach to work, according to the Daily Telegraph. In accordance with their motto, they held a series of obligatory gatherings for employees to foster team spirit and avoid training sessions from getting monotonous.
According to the appeals court, the company required employees to “participate in seminars and end-of-week cocktails that regularly resulted in excessive alcohol consumption, pushed by colleagues who made extremely large quantities of alcohol available.” In addition to simulating sexual actions, sharing beds with colleagues during seminars, and other types of hazing, the depraved gatherings included nasty nicknames and other sorts of hazing.
According to his court evidence, Mr. T refrained from “Wolf of Wall Street”-style extracurriculars because he disagreed with Cubik Partners’ concept of “fun.” The employee also asserted his right to “critical behavior and refusal of business policy based on enticement to engage in certain excesses.”
As a result of his denial, the employee was fired in 2015 for “professional inadequacies” and failing to reflect the “party” culture that the consulting firm was attempting to foster. According to the firm, Mr. T was also terminated for being uninteresting, poor at listening, and difficult to work with, as reported by the Telegraph. In other words, it was the exact opposite of the majority of employees who are terminated for being too crazy.
The court ordered the corporation to pay the former employee €3,000 ($3,114) in restitution.
Seven years later, when the Parisian appeals court ultimately ruled with Mr. T, redemption finally arrived. The court decided that the ex-employee was expressing his “freedom of speech” by refusing to attend the mandatory gatherings, which were associated with “promiscuity, bullying, and enticement to participate in different types of excess and misbehavior.”
In the end, they determined that Cubik Partners’ “fun” culture violated Mr. T’s “basic right to dignity and respect for private life.”
The court ordered the corporation to pay the former employee €3,000 ($3,114) in restitution. He has subsequently asked an additional €461,000 ($478,789), which the court will evaluate at a later date.
In a full reversal of this incidence in 2016, a Frenchman who claimed his job was “boring” was rewarded $45,000.
In many societies, daily drinking is nearly a condition for climbing the corporate ladder, which is unfortunate.
Patrick, a London-based attorney, told the BBC that business development (BD) is all about keeping connections with existing clients and attempting to acquire new ones. “BD utilizes alcohol as a social lubricant; it encourages individuals to relax and bond.”
He stated, “If you are unsuccessful at BD, you will likely never become a partner. Therefore, alcohol intake is an unstated requirement for advancement.”
In 2018, in an effort to curb party culture, WeWork eliminated the limitless alcohol option from its New York City offices.
»Man obtains legal right to be “boring” at work and receives $3,000 from his employer«