Worksheet Week 4 Easyjet in French court over labour laws 22 January 2010 Easyjet is facing court action in Paris, charged with breaking French labour laws. The airline is alleged to have failed to declare 170 staff employed at Paris Orly airport between 2003 and 2006. The airline says it could be fined up to £200,000 in unpaid social security contributions. Other reports put the figure at nearer 10 m euros. Easyjet argues that because the staff were hired under British contracts, they were not subject to French rules. "Easyjet, a UK registered company, believed it fully complied and met its obligations under French law, which did not at the time clearly cater for a UK company operating with French base and domestic routes," the airline said in a statement. The company says that when the law changed in 2007, it moved to issuing French contracts. The case is being heard in court on Friday, with a judgement expected in a few weeks' time.

Easyjet accused of breaking labour laws The low-cost airline, Easyjet, will be brought before a French court accused of violating French labour laws. The company may now face a fine of up to 10 million euros. Easyjet has been under _____________here in France since 2006 when an inspection of their _____________at Paris Orly airport showed they'd _____________ to register 170 _____________ to the French authorities. The budget airline is accused of _____________ strict labour _____________ and is now being pursued by the state prosecutor for millions of euros in _____________ social security and health insurance contributions. The budget airline insists that its _____________were hired under British contracts and _____________ were not subject to French rules. Orly airport, it claims, was merely a rest ____________for its workers and it was the planes ____________and not France that served as their _______________. The French authorities _____________ out however that _____________ of the Easyjet staff lived and paid their _____________ in France and many were working solely on internal flights between Paris and Nice.

Emma Jane Kirby, BBC News, Paris

ARTICLE n° 1 1°)Are the following statements Right or Wrong : Justify with quotes from the article Easyjet is accused of not having paid its staff legally. R/W _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Employees didn’t sign French contracts. R/W _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Some reports show the company owes several million euros. R/W _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Easyjet is a French -registered airline. R/W _______________________________________________________________________________________________ It operates international flights only. R/W _______________________________________________________________________________________________ The law changed in the past decade . R/W _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Easyjet will plead guilty in that affair. R/W _______________________________________________________________________________________________

2°)Complete the crossword puzzle with words from the article Across 4. supposed 6. British Airways for instance 8. persons employed in a firm 10. did not succeed Down 1. within a country 2. employed 3. legislation 5. payment for an offense 7. wait for something to happen 9. 55,279,345 for example

ARTICLE n°2 1°)Fill in the blanks so as to complete the article . 2°)Match the elements from column A with the corresponding definitions in column B A B were not subject to cheap budget followed by the official who is responsible for trying to prove in a law court that people accused of crimes are guilty claims money that employers pay to cover the costs of their employees' sickness or illness authorities given jobs or employment served as did not have to follow or obey social security and health insurance says that something is true, although you cannot contributions prove it hired only solely on internal flights was used as pursued by the state prosecutor people in power (in the government) merely only on flights that go between places inside a country PAIR WORK 1. How old were you when you went on your first flight? 1. Do you like to travel by airplane? Where did you go? 2. What seat do you prefer: window, center or aisle? 2. What was the longest flight you have ever taken? 3. What do you like to do during the flight? Does the 3. What are three things you're supposed to do before the plane provide anything to do to pass the time? flight takes off? 4. What do you do when you experience turbulence? 4. What are some movies you remember seeing on the 5. Have you ever seen a female pilot? Why do you plane? think that most pilots are men? 5. Can you sleep during the flight? 6. Are most flight attendants female? Is being a flight 6. Would you like to be a flight attendant? What are the attendant considered a good job in your country? benefits and /or downfalls? What do you think are the qualifications? 7. Are planes really safer than cars? ( A British study 7. Would you rather have a younger, more shows that flying is 176 times safer than walking, 15 beautiful/handsome flight attendant or an older, more times safer than driving and 300 times safer than a experienced one? motorbike.) 8. Do you know someone who is afraid of flying in an 8. What are the advantages of traveling by airplane? airplane? What are the disadvantages? 9. What arrangements should you make for pick-up at 9. What questions should you ask when buying airplane the airport? tickets? 10. What questions do they ask you when going through 10. What questions do they ask you when you check-in at immigration and customs at the airport? the airport?