“Work concealed by reduction of hours worked on the pay slip” and “work concealed by reduction of turnover”. This is what the Jura company manufacturing ready-mixed concrete Rusthul concretes and its boss were found guilty of on Tuesday.
The criminal court of Lons-le-Saunier (Jura) sentenced the manager of the company based in Champagnole to a fine of 160,000 euros and his company to a fine of the same amount, as well as 140,000 euros of confiscatory seizure.
The company, which operates seven establishments, including five concrete plants in Jura and Doubs, was the subject of an inspection by the labor inspectorate and the gendarmerie in December 2021. The investigations revealed a system allowing customers to pay for their concrete order in cash, in envelopes given directly to drivers making deliveries. The damage to Urssaf amounts to more than 200,000 euros.
During the hearing on October 15 before the Lons-le-Saunier criminal court, the company manager partially admitted the facts. This close friend of the former president of the Jura departmental council, Clément Pernot (LR), assured in court that his company was now “transparent” and that “cash payments are now refused”, according to the daily Progress.
In June 2023, Rusthul concretes was subject to a one-month administrative closure for concealed work, “an exceptional sanction” ordered by the prefect of Jura. The prefecture services then highlighted the “very high proportion of employees concerned” and the “reiteration of the offense over time”.
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In 2023, the government launched a plan to combat illegal work, to “better sanction, better recover and repair the damage linked to illegal work”, which costs Social Security and unemployment insurance several billions each year.
