An employee of France’s national rail operator SNCF has revealed being paid 5,000 euros (£3,550) per month to do absolutely "nothing" for 12 years, reports The Telegraph.
However, rather than being delighted with the situation, he has filed a complaint for "compensation", saying the sinecure put the brakes on his promising career.
Charles Simon told French media that his employer, which runs France’s trains including the fast TGVs, took him off his day job in 2003 after he blew the whistle on a case of suspected fraud to the tune of 20 million euros.
Since then he has received 5,000 euros per month net while staying at home with the status "available" for work.
“Each month I receive a new salary statement and a bank transfer. Last month, just like every year in June, I also received a bonus of €600 for the holidays,” he told BFM TV.
In 2003, Mr Simon, from Saint Quentin in the Aisne department, northern France, said he was working for a subsidiary of SNCF called Geodis Solutions, which handles transport logistics.
“After three years of normal activity, I discovered a fraud based on false disputed transport invoices amounting to 20 million euros,” he told BFMV, producing his personal archives on the bills to back up his claims.
Part of the “misused funds” were due to go into building the new TGV Nord line, he told Le Point. Others related to the E line of the overground RER network.
He said he alerted his managers, but was promptly moved from Geodis back to SNCF. However, instead of being given a new post, the company offered him no new role. He said he had no choice but to stay at home but continued to be paid the same monthly wage.
However, rather than simply taking the money and enjoying his free time, he said he wrote several letters to Guillaume Pepy, the president of the SNCF, asking for “compensation”.
“I am asking for recognition for the wrong this has caused me because if I hadn’t been sidelined, I could have had a fine career,” he said.