Economy. Did Casino claim advances paid to employees more than 30 years ago?

It’s a real piecemeal sale: officially fell Wednesday into the lap of Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinskythe Casino group separates from 348 supermarkets (supermarkets and hypermarkets). By the end of the summer, they will display another brand, either Intermarché or Auchan, and to a lesser extent Carrefour. A good number of employees will therefore leave their Casino employer, sometimes with more than 30 years of seniority in the group.

It is in this context that many of them received a letter “inviting” them to immediately return hundreds or even thousands of euros: salary advances paid in the 1990s. Frédéric Buisson, UNSA deputy union representative , doesn’t get angry: “More than 30 years ago, there were Rallye stores for example which were bought by Casino. In some, we were paid on the 30th of the month, but at Casino we were paid around the 10th of the following month,” he explains to us. “To compensate for this gap, there were salary advances of around ten or fifteen days, or a few hundred francs or a little more for some. And for 30 years, it could have been staggered, but nothing was ever claimed! », he is surprised.

Other advances also covered the loss of certain benefits and the time for negotiations, according to the employees concerned. In total, “there would be around 900 for a total of 300,000 euros. At the same time, there are three people from the executive committee who leave with 10 million euros,” chokes Frédéric Buisson.

No request in 30 years

Worse: since the 1990s, the sums in question have never been claimed upon retirement or one-off sales of store points, for example. “And there, while all stores are sold, we demand everything from them! In a context where employees are undergoing the transfer, they will already lose their social benefits,” laments the union delegate.

According to the letters received, the money must be seized from the time savings account or directly from the payroll “if we have not contributed enough”, explained Christophe Geffard, employee of the Géant d’Angoulême in France Blue. The group demanded 2,300 euros from him.

Casino finally “renounces” the sums claimed

Initially, the Casino group confirmed the measure to our colleagues, arguing for its legality: “The document formalizing the salary advance provided for its due date at the time of the employee’s departure. A regularization which is done on the last pay slip,” explained the company to franceinfo Wednesday.

Did Casino foresee the indignation that his demands could arouse? Still, the group has gone backwards. Contacted this Thursday, a spokesperson for the Casino group responded to us that “the new management is waiving the collection of these sums”… while indicating that they have “no idea” of the number of employees concerned and the amounts involved. .