Orange faces compensation claims from French employees that could potentially amount to billions of euros, following the landmark ruling that found the company guilty of moral harassment, reports Les Echos. While only theoretical, the scale of this risk stems from the fact that the sentence gives the entire 130,000 workforce of the time (2007 and 2008) an entitlement to claim compensation against France Telecom (now Orange). There is currently no indication of how many employees could file civil actions against the company.
In response to the ruling, Orange said that it would not be appealing against it, adding that a compensation committee had already been set up internally to avoid long, costly and socially painful litigation procedures. The role of this internal commission is to review cases on an individual bases, in relation to the restructuring programme undertaken by the company during the 2007-2010 period.
