Man fired for failing to be ‘enjoyable’ at work wins compensation lawsuit

In a court docket ruling earlier this month, a decide in France’s highest court docket dominated that Paris-based consultancy Cubik Companions had unlawfully dismissed the person, named within the case as Mr. T, for failing to be sufficiently enjoyable.

In response to court docket paperwork, Mr T was employed as a senior marketing consultant by Cubik in 2011 and promoted to director in 2014. Nonetheless, he was dismissed from that place for “skilled incompetence” in 2015.

That so-called incompetence arose when Mr. T refused to adjust to Cubik’s “enjoyable” values that the court docket mentioned concerned participating in extreme consuming and different problematic behaviors. As his refusal to take part was given as a purpose for his dismissal, the decide deemed he had been wrongfully fired.

“Mr. T couldn’t be blamed for his failure to combine the values of the corporate, which [saw] the mandatory participation in seminars and weekend events ceaselessly producing extreme alcoholism inspired by [company] associates who made very giant portions of alcohol out there,” the decide mentioned.

She added that the corporate advocated practices together with “promiscuity, bullying and incitement to numerous excesses” amongst its employees at these occasions.

Mr. T additionally argued that the corporate’s “enjoyable” tradition was characterised by “humiliating and intrusive” expectations like finishing up mock sexual acts and being obligated to share a mattress with a colleague when touring in a single day for work.

Managers additionally allegedly inspired utilizing nicknames and posting “distorted and made-up” pictures within the workplace.

The decide mentioned the corporate violated his freedom of expression and opinion by firing Mr. T for refusing to hitch in with these practices.

Mr. T’s demand for 461,406 euros ($481,207) in compensation, which was rejected in a earlier listening to on the case, was partially overturned, with the decide ordering Cubik to pay him round 3,000 euros ($3,120) in damages.   

A spokesperson for Cubik Companions was not instantly out there for remark when contacted by Fortune.