Pierre, unemployed person deprived of rights

One thing is certain, Pierre did not think of engaging in such a battle. From his calm demeanor and his calm tone, there is nothing to suggest that he has been at the heart of a merciless fight for a year and a half to have his rights recognized with Pôle Emploi. His odyssey began a handful of years ago. So at the head of a small real estate company, Pierre lost his financing and had to retrain at the age of almost 50.

A night owl handling several languages, he naturally thinks of the hotel business: he becomes a receptionist in establishments on the Atlantic coast and does a number of full-time fixed-term contracts, going from hotel to hotel. Since his nocturnal work leaves him free to occupy his days as he sees fit, the man undertakes to provide a few French lessons here and there. Finally, he formalizes this new activity by creating his own business in the summer of 2020. « I was a teacher in Seine-Saint-Denis in another life, my parents were teachers, my ex-wife too »he lists, explaining this path that seemed all mapped out.

To the wall

Like any insured person who has acquired unemployment rights and who has had his company registered with Urssaf, Pierre can benefit from business start-up assistance. “Pôle emploi credited me with a small capital, just over 3,500 euros. This represented 45% of the rights I had acquired in total”, schematizes the new professor. A welcome impetus for its brand new activity, which is only scraping by the first months of its existence. The few lessons that the night receptionist gives to foreigners eager to master the language of Molière bring him only meager savings. » Normal « , it has just launched; the French teacher doesn’t care.

But everything changes in January 2021. Pierre’s contract in a hotel in the South West is coming to an end. At the same time, the government is dangling the threat of a third episode of confinement. His employer does not renew his contract and the hotelier finds himself without salary or partial unemployment. His self-employed business is still doing well, but only brings in a few hundred euros a month. At the foot of the wall, he goes to Pôle emploi. But while Pierre has just completed nearly five years of employment, the former ANPE assures him that no compensation can be paid to him. « I was told that since I had a business, I was not entitled to receive unemployment, even though my activity brought me almost nothing », he explains.

Infiltrated in a breach of bad application of the law, Pierre initially believes he is condemned to content himself with his independent activity. Assailed by the lack of logic in his situation, he undertakes to seek answers to his many questions from the organization’s interlocutors and mediators. But all the people contacted are formal: since he has a self-employed business, Pierre is not entitled to anything. And this even though all his rights had not been exhausted. “What was explained to me, without ever writing it to me officially, was that I had to liquidate my business if I wanted to receive unemployment, even though Pôle emploi had helped me to create it”, remembers Peter.

The law gives him reason

For several months, the former hotelier navigates from refusal to refusal, despite his deep conviction that he is on the right side of the law. Recently divorced and the father of an 18-year-old younger son, he is required to pay alimony that he can no longer afford and lives thanks to the help of his relatives. « I was very stressed, this situation was driving me crazy », he breathes. By dint of research, the teacher comes across a decree providing exactly for his case and becomes categorical: he should have received the famous allowances.

Faced with its inconsistencies, the institution continues despite everything to refuse to pay its due to the fifty-something. Supported by the CGT, the unemployed then contacted a lawyer and decided to initiate proceedings against the public institution. The hearing will take place in November. “I am convinced to win”, he decides, listing by heart the circulars and directives proving him right. Today, the French teacher has not resumed salaried activity. More than two years after its creation, his small business is leading the way and Pierre can count on a minimum wage per month. Many people are in his case, he believes, and he expects his fight to untie many knots: “I hope the judge will make sure that people who have been wronged, even if they don’t know about it, are compensated. » ​​​​​​​