Died from having worked too much. A machine operator had been forced by his employers to work up to 15 hours a day. They have just been convicted of manslaughter. And the case is not over.
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He had worked more than 70 hours a week. On the day of his death, on Thursday, July 7, 2016, he had been behind the wheel of his industrial sweeper for 14 consecutive hours. On the day of his death, Christian, that is the name of this employee of the France Balayage company, had worked until six in the morning at Beauvais airport before taking the road to go to a construction site in the Sum. He was supposed to be there at nine o’clock. It was there that he lost control of his vehicle. Neither alcohol nor narcotics were found at the autopsy. The vehicle had no problems. It is therefore Christian’s work rate that has been singled out. The day before he had called his wife and told her, about his employers: “They want me dead.”
Pierre Léraillé and his son Nicolas, were sentenced by the criminal court of Beauvais. One to an eight-month suspended prison sentence, the other to a 24-month suspended prison sentence for manslaughter through the deliberate violation of an obligation of safety or prudence in the context of work. They are also prohibited from running a business for three years. The company will have to pay a fine of 10,000 euros.
It is next February that the compensation of the victim’s heirs will be decided. Their lawyer will try to have the “inexcusable fault of the employer” recognized. This will enable them to obtain, in addition to the benefits to which they are entitled under the Social Security Code, additional compensation, consisting of an annuity or increased capital, and also damages which may be very heavy. A reminder: the maximum working time in France is ten hours a day, according to the Labor Code, but there may be exceptions. You can exceed this ceiling but you must have obtained the agreement of the labor inspectorate. This also requires an emergency linked to a temporary increase in activity, but in any case the ceiling of 12 hours per day, or 60 hours per week, cannot be exceeded.