These employees must repay the severance pay received in 2008.

Since 2008, the year of their financial dismissal, the employees of the Lebrun company have been going through a tough test that Ouest-France is following closely. The twelve employees had to wait until 2011 to be compensated after the closure of this small company in Saint-Lô specialized in electricity.

To obtain this compensation, the employees mobilized to occupy their company until the legal representative fired them with compensation of between 5,000 and 20,000 euros. They also obtained 2,000 euros in compensation for non-material damage following a decision by the Labor Court. But the matter is far from being resolved.

In March 2023, 15 years after losing their jobs, employees will take another hit. A bailiff asks them to reimburse him for everything, both the compensation received and the damages. They thus discovered that in March 2022 the Rouen Court of Appeal annulled the dismissals due to procedural irregularities. No one would have been warned of this decision.

The nightmare continues

As Ouest-France tells us, the former Lebrun’s new nightmare begins violently with blocked bank accounts and, for some, seizures. To repay the amounts legally received, they must dip into their savings or negotiate a gradual repayment of several hundred euros per month despite low salaries or aid. While some have found employment, others are retired or close to retirement.

At the time, the matter caused a stir in the local and national media. The legal representative announces that he renounces recovering severance pay, but does not renounce the 2,000 euros in compensation. Those who have already paid will bear their loss. They were refunded part of the amount they paid, but they had to pay bailiff fees.

The AGS at the origin

It remains to be seen who this money goes to and who claims it. And the most surprising thing about this story is that no one really takes responsibility for this grotesque situation.

But, according to FranceTVinfo, the AGS did indeed reclaim the money by ordering a bailiff to recover the amounts paid from each employee.

When will the ordeal of the former Lebruns end? The case was brought before the Court of Cassation to challenge the ruling of the Court of Appeal. As Ouest France employees said, the outcome is uncertain. While they wait for justice to resolve the problem, they will have to continue paying rubbish without knowing if they will ever be reimbursed.