Rhiannon Ingle
A woman from France has taken legal action against her boss after receiving a salary for two whole decades - without doing any work.
While many may think that being paid to do nothing for years and years sounds like a dream, Laurence Van Wassenhove, who has sued her boss for 'forced inactivity' and 'making her invisible' in the workplace, says that it was like psychological torture.
The 59-year-old is suing Orange, which is one of Europe's biggest telecom companies, for discrimination, claiming that she was left in a role with no tasks, no responsibilities, and no human connection for over 20 years.
The mother-of-two first joined the company back in 1993, and was eager to grow her career. However, developing epilepsy and hemiplegia, which is a paralysis that only affects one side of the body, she was unable to work.
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Laurence, who is a trained HR assistant, was later transferred to a secretarial role due to such medical reasons.
About 10 years later in 2002, she claimed to have submitted a request to be transferred to another region in France, but an occupational health assessment later determined she wasn't fit for the role.
Subsequently, she was placed on standby.
Despite being paid her salary, Laurence explained just how much of a toll feeling like an 'outcast secretary' had on her mental health, per FTV.
"I was paid, yes," she told French media outlet Mediapart, "but I was treated like I didn't exist."
She also alleged that Orange put her on standby and then sick leave, before ultimately putting forward the option of retirement as a result of her disability.
The lawsuit from Laurence, who has claimed that the inactivity at work led to severe depression, accuses the company of not meeting the French labour law requirement of providing meaningful work while also accommodating her health needs.
Despite several requests to her workplace for training, redeployment or support, the Frenchwoman says she remained in a state of 'forced inactivity', adding that nothing major changed even after she filed an official complaint to the government and High Authority for the Fight against Discrimination a decade ago, back in 2015.
"Being paid, at home, not working is not a privilege. It's very hard to bear," she added to FTV.
Laurence's lawyer, David Nabet-Martin, has put forward that Orange failed in its obligation to provide reasonable workplace accommodations.
He added that this long-term alleged exclusion constitutes discrimination under French labour law.
According to French outlet, La Dépêche, Orange explained that the company had taken Laurence's 'personal social situation' into account and took measures to ensure she was kept in the best possible conditions during her time away from active duties.
The company added that Laurence had been considered for a return to work in a new role.
However, this never actually ended up happening, as she was frequently on sick leave at the time.
Tyla has reached out to Orange for further comment.