- Frédéric Desnard says that he suffered from depression because of "boring" job role
- Former manager takes Interparfums to employment tribunal
- Interparfums says that Desnard never complained during four years of employment
Frédéric Desnard, a former manager at Interparfums in France, has taken the company to an employment tribunal after complaining that his role was “boring”.
The ex-employee is asking for €360,000 in compensation from the perfume-maker after spending four years in the unfulfilling role. He told French newspaper Le Monde that the job role amounted to: “an insidious descent into hell, a nightmare”.
From 2010-2014, Desnard says he was “mis au placard” or “put in the cupboard” by Interparfums in attempt to force him to resign. He believes that the €80,000 job role led to him suffering with a number of health complaints, including epilepsy, sleep problems and severe depression.
Desnard alleges that the mistreatment began shortly after one of Interparfum’s biggest clients ended its relationship with the company and a number of staff were laid off. After this time, Desnard says that his role consisted of “running errands for the [company] president”, according to the Associated French Press.
After suffering an epileptic fit on his way to work, Desnard was signed off sick for six months and was then made redundant in September 2014. Interparfums cited Desnard’s prolonged absence when terminating his contract, stating that it was interrupting their processes.
Interparfums insisted that Desnard did not complain about being bored during the four years in question. It also alleged that the employee had at one point complained about being too busy.
The tribunal was expected to make a decision on the case last week but it has since been refered to another judge and a date for a second hearing has yet to be set. The case is expected to continue in early 2017.