Many people dream of getting a salary without actually working. But for one French woman, this setup was a nightmare. She is now suing the telecom company Orange (formerly France Télécom) for discrimination after they paid her for 20 years without assigning any tasks. According to Laurence Van Wassenhove, her mental health has suffered immensely from the decades of forced inactivity and isolation from her work colleagues.
“I was treated like I didn’t exist”
Van Wassenhove joined Orange in 1993, when it was still known as France Télécom. She was employed as a civil servant, but they offered her secretarial and human resource roles, which better suited her physical limitations, namely epilepsy and partial paralysis. In 2002, she requested a transfer to another location in France. Although the request was approved, a 2004 occupational health assessment deemed her unfit for the position.
So the company put her on standby instead of giving her a proper alternative, alleged Van Wassenhove’s lawyer. Although they still paid her, they reportedly told her to stay at home without any work assignments. Van Wassenhove claims the employment situation was “moral harassment” that destroyed her professional purpose and left her feeling like an outcast. “I was paid, yes,” she said to Mediapart, “but I was treated like I didn’t exist.”
On the other hand, Orange denies any wrongdoing. They claim they had tried to find options that suited her “personal social situation” so Van Wassenhove can “return to work in an adapted position.” However, this never happened, which they attribute to her frequent sick leave. However, her lawyer, David Nabet-Martin, argued that Orange is guilty of discrimination for failing to provide reasonable accommodations for her health issues, which put her in a state of career limbo for 20 years. After putting her on paid standby, Orange eventually put her on paid sick leave then offered her retirement.
“I lost a lot of money”
After ten years of this arrangement, Van Wassenhove filed complaints with the High Authority for the Fight against Discrimination and the French government. Orange was mandated to appoint a mediator to amend the situation. However, nothing changed, according to Van Wassenhove. She is a mother of two, and claims that despite her salary, she struggled with basic expenses such as housing. Her income had gradually decreased and her retirement pension was cut.
“I am in a situation where I lost a lot of money,” she said to the Sun. (This is a translation of her interview.) “I did the math…” She estimates how much money she could have made had she kept her job as a secretary. She believes she suffered a loss of about €650,000 (US$700,000). Orange, meanwhile, asserts they had continued to pay her a full salary and did everything they could to accommodate her.
“Being paid, at home, not working is not a privilege. It’s very hard to bear,” she said, reports News 24. Nabet-Martin claimed that the forced professional isolation led to her experiencing severe depression. Additionally, he asserts they implemented this setup to gradually push her out of her job without directly firing her.
“For the disabled, a job means securing a place in society. We sued because of [Van Wassenhove’s] deterioration of health due to the company’s negligence, moral harassment, and discrimination,” he said, according to SCMP. In 2023, he served Orange a notice to give her a suitable position or compensation. The company allegedly did not respond. She filed her lawsuit in 2024.
Disabilities, unemployment, and depression
Online, many people say they would love to be paid to stay home, but that’s not the full picture here. In France, “moral harassment” is defined as repeated actions that cause worsened working conditions, violate employee rights, or cause physical or mental harm.
Additionally, the French Labour Code prohibits discrimination based on disability. It requires companies to provide reasonable accommodations to prevent moral harassment. It also requires companies to maintain good faith in their contracts. This includes providing work for their employees and maintaining their professional dignity. Although Orange paid Van Wassenhove’s salary, it allegedly failed to give her meaningful work.
Researchers have long documented the links between disabilities, unemployment, and depression. People with disabilities are more prone to mental health struggles compared to the rest of the population, especially if they are unemployed and have multiple medical conditions (comorbidity), according to a 2023 study.
“The majority of people with physical disabilities had negative experiences with societal prejudice and coping with their limitations,” writes the study authors. “They were depressed as well as angry over having to stop their careers, education, and possibilities… The policymakers should focus on preventing comorbidity and providing technical skills to persons with physical disabilities to improve their employment status and promote a healthy lifestyle.”
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