Up to four years in prison and a 500,000 euro fine. The Marseille court has shown firmness in rendering its decision, Thursday, July 8, in the Terra Fecundis case, this Spanish temporary employment company accused of having committed the biggest fraud in posted work in France. Among the nine defendants, it is this company, recently renamed “Work for All”, and three of its managers, who were the most severely punished. The other accused – the transport company Terra Bus and four accomplices – were given less severe sentences: a 200,000 euros fine in the first case, from one to two years in prison suspended for natural persons ( without counting the fines varying between 5,000 and 40,000 euros).
The sixth correctional chamber looked into the practices of Terra Fecundis between 2012 and 2015, knowing that they continue today, according to the decentralized services of the Ministry of Labor. During the period in question, the Spanish company made each year between 5,000 and 6,700 workers, mainly of Ecuadorian nationality, available to farmers established in our territory. Responsible for picking fruits and vegetables – in particular in the Bouches-du-Rhône department – this workforce was not declared in the rules and its rights were violated, in the eyes of the public prosecutor: hours unpaid overtime, retracted rest periods, maximum working hours trampled on …
During the trial, which was held for five days at the end of May, the public prosecutor, Xavier Leonetti, stressed that it was a “Non-standard file” where the European legislation on posting had been abused. This offers a company the option of sending personnel abroad, while paying its social contributions in the State where it is established. On one condition: “exported” employees must not work too long in the host country. An obligation from which the management of Terra Fecundis was free: it employed its workers for months in France, without registering them with Urssaf, while paying its charges in Spain, where they are lower. A differential that has enabled it to charge prices lower than those of the competition.
Over 100 million euros in lost earnings
You have 56.65% of this article to read. The rest is for subscribers only.