Man Wins 7-Year Legal Battle To Not Have To Be ‘Fun’ At Work

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The highest court in France has found that a man was wrongly fired by a consultancy firm for refusing to go out for drinks with his coworkers.

The individual, identified only as Mr. T. in court filings, was let go by Cubik Partners, a company with headquarters in Paris, in 2015 because he objected to team-building exercises and weekend gatherings.

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His attorneys claimed these gatherings involved "excessive alcoholism" and "promiscuity."

Mr. T said that the workplace's "fun" culture included "humiliating and intrusive activities," such as using obscene nicknames and sleeping in the same bed as another employee while going to meetings.

However, the Paris Court of Cassation found the guy had a right to refuse to party in a decision last week that was made public on Thursday. As a result, Cubik Partners was ordered to compensate the former employee $3083.

The company wasn't allowed to make him:

'forcibly participate in seminars and end-of-week drinks frequently ending up in excessive alcohol intake, encouraged by associates who made very large quantities of alcohol available,' the court said.

The judge continued, stating that the business had:

'humiliating and intrusive practices regarding privacy such as simulated sexual acts, the obligation to share a bed with a colleague during seminars, the use of nicknames to designate people and hanging up deformed and made-up photos in offices'.