The Spanish low-cost airline Volotea was sentenced Monday to a fine of 200,000 euros, half with a suspended sentence, for "
hidden work
", after having paid pilots in Spain who actually worked in Bordeaux.
Volotea "
intentionally committed fraud
" by taking advantage of the "
posting system
" provided for by European law, to "
drastically reduce its charges
" and "
distort competition
", ruled Monday the president of the court Denis Roucou.
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The low-cost company will also have to pay 300,843 euros in material damage and 5,000 euros in non-pecuniary damage to the Civil Aviation Flight Staff Pension Fund (CRPN), and 7,500 euros to the National Union of Airline Pilots for non-pecuniary damage. (SNPL).
For the same reason, Volotea will also pay 5,000 euros to each of the other civil parties: the Urssaf d'Aquitaine and three pilots from the low cost company.
The company was accused of having paid, between 2013 and 2017, 18 pilots, mostly Spaniards, in Spain while they were based at Bordeaux-Mérignac airport, thus avoiding the payment in France of significant salaries and social contributions linked to them.
A saving of 630,000 euros over the period
According to the Bordeaux court, the Spanish company thus achieved savings, "
far from negligible
", of 630,000 euros over the entire period.
"
An employer contributes 36% of the salary in Spain against 44% in France,
" President Denis Roucou recalled during the hearing in June.
European legislation authorizes the practice of secondment from work, but on a temporary basis.
New European directives concerning posted workers were adopted in 2018, enshrining the principle of equal treatment.
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But in this case, earlier, "
neither the rules of secondment, nor its limited duration have been respected,
" said Deputy Prosecutor Marianne Poinot in June.
The prosecution had opened an investigation for "
circumvention of the rules relating to the bases of assignment of the pilots
" following several reports of the labor inspectorate of Bordeaux.
According to the labor inspectorate, the Volotea pilots "
were attached to the Barcelona home base, but no aircraft took off or landed in Barcelona
", where the company's headquarters are located.
Volotea, specializing in flights connecting European regional capitals, was created in 2012 by Carlos Munoz, Spanish entrepreneur who founded the low-cost company Vueling in 2004.