French civil servant paid £450k over 10 years 'for doing nothing'
'He’s not been sitting on his hands doing nothing. In 2015 he sent off 49 job applications'
Your support helps us to tell the story
As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.
Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.
Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election
Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
A French civil servant was paid more than £450,000 over a decade for doing nothing.
Bosko Herman has reportedly been banking a £3,331-a-month salary in a story that has provoked widespread indignation across the country.
France prides itself on an envied government operation that employs around 20 per cent of the workforce.
In Mr Herman’s case, the 55-year-old senior civil servant, or fonctionnaire as they are called in France, was effectively being paid a job seekers' allowance out of his old employer’s budget.
He spent five years between 2001 and 2006 as the “general director of services” for Sainte-Savine town hall near Troyes in eastern France, but was let go after a “personal disagreement” with a new mayor.
Thanks to a 1984 legal clause that provides a leaving package for Mr Herman’s role, entitled “civil servants momentarily deprived of a job”, the town hall continued paying 75 per cent of his salary until he found new work.
The remaining 25 per cent was paid by a civil service management centre, according to reports.
Yves Labouré, from the civil service management centre in Aube, said: “He’s not been sitting on his hands doing nothing.
“In 2015 he sent off 49 job applications and by August 2016 he had sent off another 34.”
In a similar story from last year, Frenchman Charles Simon was paid more than £4,500 a month by state rail operator SNCF over 12 months despite not working a single day.
Former president and 2017 candidate Nicolas Sarkozy has vowed to cut public spending by £81 billion over five years if he is voted in.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments