Frenchman Fired for Turning Up to Work

A clerk in France has been made redundant when he unexpectedly turned up for work on a Saturday.  

Yves Poilu from Calais, France, had decided to drop into the office in order to finish up a few chores from the previous day. Unfortunately he exceeded the 35-hour working week laid down by the government and was immediately fired.  

“Clearly the management had been tipped off”, explained an angry Mr Poilu, “My boss was waiting by the door with a couple of security officers. He came in from home just to sack me. He’s now suing me for overtime.”  

An employment tribunal heard how Mr Poilu’s employers, Centre Bas Calais (CBS), had found him virtually impossible to manage since he had been hired in 2003.  

“Yves was always on time for work, never took a lunch break and didn’t smoke. On the whole this destructive and obsessive nature both lowered staff morale and rendered the company more efficient. This is simply not compatible with the French mentality”, said company director Mr Charbus.  

Co-worker Anne-Marie Jupeaux reiterated this sentiment, “Yves’s fascist approach to work was close to unbearable. As a result of his persistence I once had to work 36 hours in a week. I was traumatised and nearly got drunk.”  

Others testified that Poilu was unwilling to take more than three weeks holiday at a go and that he ‘abused’ the coffee machine. Things came to a head when during a moment of weakness the clerk boasted to his secretary that he would be retuning in the morning to “wrap things up”. She dutifully reported him to the management.   

Mr Poilu’s lawyer retorted that his client simply wished to finish up work that he had been unable to complete the Friday before and that his desire to return to the office was spurred by a sense of guilt. “CBS has been recording losses for the last two years and has only been kept afloat through state subsidies. My client was simply trying to remedy the situation,” he stated.   

Nevertheless the tribunal came down heavily on the side of CBS. The statement read, “Mr Poilu’s actions were both reckless and stupid. He not only endangered his own health but also the very work ethic that the French nation is built on. Less is definitely more.”  

Mr Poilu has been sentenced to a two-year holiday in Senegal.