A man who was fired at work after refusing to party with his colleagues has been vindicated by the highest court.
Most companies are apparent in their values, but one French corporation found itself in trouble after it terminated an employee's contract when he refused to adopt its "fun" culture.
As reported by the Telegraph, the unnamed employee - who goes by Mr. T - was hired as a senior consultant for the Paris-based consultancy firm Cubik Partners in 2011 and promoted to director in 2014.
However, in 2015, he was unlawfully dismissed from that position for "professional incompetence" and for choosing not to embrace the "party" environment that the workplace was trying to capture.
The outlet also reported that other factors apart from the Wolf of Wall Street-esque extracurricular activities played into Mr. T's sacking such as being boring, bad at listening, and difficult to work with, per the company.
However, the employee contended that his values did not align with the business's description of "fun" and that he was allowed to "critical behavior and to refuse company policy based on incitement to partake in various excesses".
Seven years later, Paris' Court of Cassation ultimately agreed with him. In its ruling, which was obtained by the Telegraph, the court pointed out that not every worker needs to get involved in corporate' off-work culture.
The law also disputed that it was everyone's definition of "fun" to participate in "practices linking promiscuity, bullying, and incitement to get involved in various forms of excess and misconduct".
In addition to this, the court filing stated that the firm disregarded Mr.T's "fundamental right to dignity and respect of private life" and that he was merely exerting his "freedom of expression" by not getting involved.
As a form of reparations, the court instructed Cubik to pay the former employee $3,114 (€3,000). However, he has since ordered another $478,789 (€461,000) - a request that the court will examine at a later date.
Unfortunately, work and drinking often go hand in hand in many companies, where standard socializing is almost a requirement for climbing up the corporate ladder.
"BD [business development] is all about maintaining relationships with existing clients, and trying to win new clients," a UK lawyer, who goes by Patrick, told the BBC. "BD involves booze as a social lubricant, it makes people more willing to loosen up and bond."
"If you don’t do BD successfully, chances are you won’t ever become a partner. So the consumption of alcohol is an unspoken necessity if you want to progress," he added.
Do you guys think the workplace was in the wrong for firing him? Comment down below!
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