The French subsidiary of Ikea has been fined €1m (£861,000) and a former executive handed a suspended jail term over accusations that employees were illegally spied on for many years.
Following a trial, Ikea France was deemed guilty of improper use of personal data in a case that dates back to 2012 when allegations were first raised by trade unions.
The company sacked four executives at that time, but denied spying on anyone, when a criminal investigation was first launched into claims the retailer had snooped on workers for a decade and even paid to gain access to police files.
Image: Ikea France denied spying on anyone when a criminal investigation was opened in 2012One specific allegation related to Ikea France using bank data to try to catch an employee who had claimed unemployment benefits but drove a Porsche.
Prosecutors had argued for a €2m penalty against the Swedish-based flat-pack furniture retailer, which employs 10,000 staff across 34 stores in France and an online operation.
AdvertisementFormer Ikea France chief executive Jean-Louis Baillot was fined €50,000 (£43,000) for storing personal data and handed a two-year suspended jail term.
Several store managers and employees in human resources as well as a private investigator and police officers were among those caught up in the probe.
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“IKEA Retail France has strongly condemned the practices, apologised and implemented a major action plan to prevent this from happening again,” the company said.
