Man challenges dismissal for not being fun and wins lawsuit against employer
Do you have them in your circle too – people who simply can’t stand it when you don’t want to drink for an evening, or at all? Well, now imagine that these are managers at your workplace… What do you do then, quietly trying to pour your rum and Coke into the planter? Getting a whisky glass of water at the bar and saying that you simply really enjoy glasses filled to the brim with neat vodka? Read here what happened to an employee in Paris.
The man, referred to as Mr. T. in legal documents, had been frustrated for some time by the excessive alcohol consumption he was expected to participate in by his employer during seminars and weekend events. He was dismissed, according to his employers because he was not doing his job properly, but T. suspected that something else was behind it…
What is the definition of fun?
According to him, he was dismissed because he refused to participate in the company’s interpretation of ‘fun’. This notion of ‘fun’ consisted of consuming large quantities of alcohol during the aforementioned seminars and events, which subsequently led to “licentious behavior, bullying, and encouraging various excesses.”
Required to share a hotel bed
The consultancy firm where T. worked, Cubik Partners in Paris, allegedly showed no consideration for his dignity and had no respect for his private life. Among other things, the atmosphere within the company was shaped by “imitating sexual acts, requiring colleagues to share a hotel bed during overnight conferences, giving staff nicknames, and hanging edited photos inside the office.”
That was not allowed
A French court has now ruled in T.’s favor. The company should not have dismissed T. on the grounds they cited, as the court took T.’s counterarguments into consideration. Which goes to show: if you don’t feel like drinking along with your boss or colleagues, don’t do it. Hooray for the ‘alcohol-free drinks reception‘ option!
Source: Food and Wine
Also read:
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- New research proves: drinking alcohol before 40 is very bad for you
