Should a heart attack during an adulterous tryst on a business trip count as a work-related accident?
A French court has ruled it should, surprising even seasoned watchers of the nation’s protective legislation.
In February 2013, a company called TSO, which specializes in building railway tracks and is based in northeastern France, sent a technician on a business trip to the town of Meung-sur-Loire.
The last the company heard of the man identified in court papers as Mr Xavier was when they received a call to say he had suffered a heart attack and died after having sex at the home of a woman he met on the business trip.
The French health insurance scheme ruled that the man’s death was an industrial accident and ordered TSO to compensate his family, a decision which was challenged in court.
After losing a first appeal before a social security tribunal, the company took the matter to the Paris Court of Appeal, which confirmed the lower court decision in May.
The judgement, which only came to the attention of local media this week, found that having sex was as normal as “taking a shower or having a meal,” and that Mr Xavier was still entitled to his company’s protection.
The company argued that the man was not working when having “an adulterous affair with a perfect stranger.”
Rouen-based lawyer and lecturer Sarah Balluet, who brought the case to public attention on social media, said it lowered the bar for workplace accidents.
Under French law, an employee is considered at work for the entire duration of a business trip, unless the company proves otherwise.
Balluet described the ruling as “surprising” compared with similar previous cases.
“The question companies are asking themselves now is whether they need to expressly forbid workers from having sex during a business trip,” Balluet said.
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