in Vendée, his moral harassment recognized by the courts

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The Nantes administrative court sentenced the State to icompensate the former director of the Regional Adapted Education Establishment (Erea) Jean-d'Orbestier of Sables-d’Olonne for the “moral harassment” that she had suffered from her fellow teachers.

One of his relatives had testified about the situation at the time in the Journal des Sables.

Complaint filed

On September 17, 2020, this official had filed a complaint against several teacherss for moral harassment, reports the administrative court of Nantes in a judgment dated October 7, 2024 which has just been made public: on January 15, 2021, the rectorate of the Nantes academy had granted him functional protection, it that is to say, covering the legal costs of public officials attacked in the course of their duties.

In August 2021, the director and her spouse requested “ compensation for damages resulting from actions likely to be qualified as moral harassment”, but the rector had not responded to their request.

The couple therefore appealed to the Nantes administrative court on December 9, 2021 to order the State to pay €28,000 in compensation to the former director and €5,000 for the moral damage suffered by her companion.

“Between the ax and the chainsaw”

On July 8, 2020, on the eve of a meeting, exchanges between two teachers on a social network took place regarding the director, who said “feeling lonely” and “insecure” in his official accommodation: one of them had written to his interlocutor that he hesitated “between the ax and the chainsaw”… At the start of the school year in September 2020, one of his colleagues also addressed the director “three times” by “yelling at her”.

Another teacher had also adopted “a hostile and threatening attitude” against him during a meeting of the Health, Safety and Working Conditions Committee in September 2020.

“A good director is a dead director”

On December 15, 2020, a teacher reportedly declared, regarding the principal, that “if he had had a gun, she would have been the first to go”… Finally, on January 8, 2021, an anonymous message was left in the establishment's mailbox. “A good director is a dead director”was it written there…

“Given their serious and repeated nature, these actions are likely to give rise to the presumption the existence of the alleged moral harassment”, considers the administrative court of Nantes.

The academy released from all responsibility

The administration had tasked an inspector with a mission to develop a road map to take into account the dysfunctions reported by the director. Individual interviews and several meetings were then conducted by the Academic Director of National Education Services.

The academic services had also “exchanged regularly” with the head of the establishment, “by telephone and by email”. Finally, the benefit of functional protection was granted to her on January 15, 2021, although she had requested it on December 29, 2020. In the end, “ the administration cannot be considered to have taken insufficient measures to support the applicant. Responsibility for State fault cannot be upheld,” the Nantes judges concluded.

The spouse will also be compensated

Her placement on sick leave must, however, be “considered as constituting a direct consequence of the acts of moral harassment that she suffered in the exercise of her duties”.

The director of Erea was therefore not able to benefit from “function, responsibilities and results compensation” between January and August 2021.

The State was therefore condemned to pay him €3,800 in this respect and to reimburse three consultations with a psychologist and an osteopathy consultation for €300. Above all, her moral damage will be compensated to the tune of €5,000: in total, she was therefore awarded a sum of €9,100.

Due to the moral damage that he too suffered, the spouse will be compensated to the tune of €5,000.

The State was also ordered to cover the couple's legal costs of €1,500.

Erea closed its doors permanently at the end of the 2020-2021 school year.

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