His dismissal called into question his freedom of expression. It is for this reason that the Rennes Court of Appeal on Wednesday judged “null” the dismissal at the end of 2008 of an employee who had denounced the recycling of spoiled meat in a slaughterhouse in Châteaubriant (Loire-Atlantique). The industrial tribunal ordered the former employer to pay him 30,000 euros in compensation.
Pierre Hinard was employed as quality manager by Castel Viandes when, in December 2008, he informed the veterinary services that the group was practicing “repackage”, in other words the recycling of spoiled meat from unsold products.
Summons and dismissal
The same afternoon, Pierre Hinard was summoned by his management and laid off, before being the subject of dismissal proceedings a few days later for “professional insufficiency”, his lawyers recalled during the hearing. on February 15.
“Given the absence of characterization of the cause invoked by the employer to proceed with the dismissal, the real cause of the termination of Mr. Hinard’s employment contract is the denunciation to the veterinary services within the company itself. practices of “repackage” (…) His dismissal is therefore void as having been caused by the exercise of his freedom of expression”, considers the court of appeal.
“End of impunity”
“It’s the end of impunity” for industrialists, Pierre Hinard told AFP. “I just did my job, I should have been supported,” he added. One of his lawyers, Me David Lemercier, estimated that Pierre Hinard “at least won in terms of principles because his status as a whistleblower was recognized”. The Castel Viandes company is “appealing to the Supreme Court”, its lawyer, Me Marie-Pascale Vallais, informed AFP on Wednesday evening.
Following denunciations made by Pierre Hinard, a trial was held in Nantes in 2022. The criminal court had condemned the CEO of the Castel Viandes group, Joseph Viol, to six months suspended prison sentence and a fine of 10,000 euros, notably for “deception regarding the quality of goods”. The company, which supplied groups such as McDonald’s or Auchan, was fined 40,000 euros for the same charges.