Concluding trials that started final month, a French court docket has convicted three former Ubisoft executives primarily based on accusations of systemic racism, bullying, and sexual misconduct that emerged in 2020 (by way of Courthouse Information Service).
Serge Hascoët, Tommy François, and Guillaume Patrux—all of whom had both resigned or been dismissed following the 2020 reviews—have been discovered responsible of harassment fees. Every has acquired suspended sentences.
François, former Ubisoft vice chairman of editorial and artistic providers, has acquired the heaviest sentence of a suspended three-year time period, having additionally been convicted on fees of tried sexual assault after being accused of making an attempt to forcibly kiss a restrained worker throughout a vacation social gathering.
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Testimonies additionally alleged that François engaged in different types of office sexual misconduct by exhibiting pornography in Ubisoft places of work and collaborating in video games the place staff have been chased and—in the event that they have been caught—groped. François has additionally been ordered to pay a €30,000/$35,340 wonderful.
Hascoët, former chief inventive officer, has acquired an 18-month suspended sentence, having been discovered responsible of “psychological harassment and complicity in sexual harassment.” An inside Ubisoft investigation and court docket testimony describe a office by which staff beneath Hascoët have been subjected to racial slurs and Islamophobic pranks.
Whereas Hascoët acquired a shorter sentence, he was ordered to pay a steeper wonderful of €40,000/$47,190.
Patrux, previously a sport director at Ubisoft, acquired the lightest sentence of a 12-month suspended time period and €10,000/$11,800 wonderful. His sentencing describes his bullying as “smaller scale” however “notably intense,” which allegedly entailed throwing workplace gear and even lighting a person’s beard on hearth.
Whereas the defendants’ legal professionals argued all through the trial that their shoppers have been by no means disciplined throughout their time at Ubisoft, the writer’s personal inside audit concluded that there was successfully “no HR coverage till 2020.”
As they have been issued suspended sentences, the trio of former executives will keep away from serving their time in jail—offered they adjust to probationary situations.
Maude Beckers, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, described the convictions as “an excellent choice at the moment, and for the long run.”
“For all firms, it signifies that when there’s poisonous administration, managers have to be held accountable and employers can not let it slide,” Beckers mentioned.
