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France Could Face Huge Bill After Allegedly Hiring 48,650 Casual Staff Illegally

A leaked report revealed earlier this week that the French government could face a bill of $560,000,000 in lawsuits. France's justice ministry is allegedly responsible for hiring 40,500 casual staff alone.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons

The French government hired nearly 50,000 undeclared civil servants on a casual basis, a leaked report revealed earlier this week. As a result of the practice, staff working for several French agencies were denied employee benefits, including social security coverage normally guaranteed by national law.

According to the report, which was penned in 2014 and leaked to the press on Tuesday, France's justice ministry is alone responsible for hiring 40,500 casual staff — also known as occasional public service workers (collaborateurs occasionnels du service public or COSPs).

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The evaluation, which was carried out by a team of inspectors from the finance, judicial, and social services departments, concluded that the practice could cost the government up to "half a billion euros," ($560,000,000) should the workers decide to sue the state.

France's justice ministry tweeted on Wednesday that, "after 15 years of inaction," justice minister Christiane Taubira had "started looking into the situation of COSPs back in 2012," and in fact commissioned the probe into the long-standing practice.

The ministry also said that it had "taken action" to redress the situation of improperly hired civil servants.

Après 15 ans d'inaction, — Ministère Justice (@justice_gouv)September 2, 2015

According to the report, some 48,650 workers are being improperly hired by the government on a regular basis. The practice, says the report, respects "none of the social requirements and tax regulations" outlined by French law.

Many official French bodies — including the ministries of finance, ecology, and several public health insurance and family services agencies — rely heavily on casual staffers such as doctors, vets, and interpreters. France's justice ministry — the worst offender when it comes to undeclared casual staff — employs thousands of freelance experts, translators, and interpreters.

"Legal translators are often called upon to assist police investigations during questioning and wiretapping, which can last several days, and sometimes even weeks," Annie Trio-Lepage, a French and Italian translator, told VICE News. Trio-Lepage collaborates regularly with the court in Bordeaux and is a member of France's National Union of Professional Translators.

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She explained that her job requires her to "always be on call" — a professional situation she described as a "personal choice."

For Trio-Lepage, the government's main failing as an employer is its tendency to be slow when it comes to paying its casual staff. Payments, she explained, are sometimes delayed by up to two years. The translator also said the government should try to improve the relationship between the state and its casual staff. "The courts aren't rigorous enough when it comes to figuring out the status of their employees," she said.

And while the French state could find itself on the receiving end of any number of class action lawsuits from disgruntled freelancers, legal proceedings could also be launched by France's European neighbors or by the European Union on the grounds of "excessive tax exemption," since employers who hire casual staff do not pay taxes or, in this case, value-added tax (VAT).

A collective lawsuit has already been filed by 30 freelance translators, who say that, as a result of the government's practice, they have been denied access to France's welfare system. Their attorney David Dokhan told French radio station France Inter that since none of his clients had pay slips, they could not benefit from health insurance, contribute to their retirement or receive unemployment if their services are no longer needed.

The leak comes as France is struggling to cope with a rising unemployment rate. Some lawmakers have even suggested introducing a single contract to wipe out inequalities between those holding a temporary employment contract and those benefiting from a permanent contract — a proposal the country's socialist government has declined to pursue for now.

The case filed by Dokhan's clients will be examined in Paris on November 3 by the French capital's Health and Social Affairs Court.

Follow Pierre-Louis Caron on Twitter: @pierrelouis_c

Photo via Croquant/Wikimedia Commons