Neymar is accused of not declaring a Brazilian maid in Paris

The French newspaper Le Parisien published, this Wednesday (15), a report on the accusation made by a 35-year-old Brazilian woman, mother of four, who demands compensation of €368,000 (R$1.9 million) from Neymar, former Paris Saint-Germain star.

The woman, who did not have regular documents to live in France, claims that she worked for Neymar seven days a week for almost two years, when the player lived in the country, but without being declared by him.

He was reported to the Saint-Germain-en-Laye labor court, in Yvelines, in the Paris region, by a 35-year-old Brazilian woman, whose identity was preserved by the newspaper.

The woman who, according to the publication, lived in France without a visa or documents to work, accuses him of having illegally employed her for excessive working hours of seven days a week, from January 2021 to October 2022. The Brazilian claims that the payments were systematically made in cash to avoid declaring her as an employee in the French tax system.

“Hidden work, hellish pace, non-payment of overtime, lack of paid leave and medical monitoring… the record smells of modern slavery”, denounces the report. During the time she worked for the player, the domestic worker, pregnant with her fourth child, was reportedly forced to work for up to two weeks before giving birth. She ended up not returning to her position, and says she did not receive any type of assistance or contact from her boss, or his assistants.

MONSIEUR’S CLEANLINESS, MADAME’S NAILS

The Brazilian’s mansion in France is in the city of Bougival, in Yvelines, about 20 km from the center of Paris. The land is over 5 thousand m² and the luxury property is around 780 m². It was in this house that the undocumented woman claims to have been exploited for the first time, at Neymar’s 27th birthday party, on February 4, 2019, when she was recruited as a kitchen assistant by a man called Mauro, one of the members of the player’s entourage.

The same man allegedly called the girl back in May 2020 “to work more regularly for Neymar Júnior, without reaching full time”, according to a note on the subpoena sent to the court by the Brazilian’s lawyers.

Then, from January 2021, she would have started working regularly for the football player. She took care of her household chores and did the nails of her girlfriend, Bruna Biancardi, the newspaper states. According to the subpoena, at Mauro’s request, the domestic worker approached Isabel J, nicknamed Bel, the star’s administrative assistant. Text message exchanges between the two women on the WhatsApp app show that Bel organized the “official” arrival of the Brazilian employee at Neymar’s house.

ASK FOR HELP FROM A CHARITABLE ASSOCIATION

The complainant’s alleged working hours were 9 hours a day on weekdays, with an additional 6 hours on Friday and Saturday nights. On Sundays, she worked 7 hours a day. This represents more than 20 hours more than the standard 40-hour work week for a domestic worker. However, the employer would never have paid additional pay for overtime. The woman says she received €15 net per hour, around R$80, during the week — which is the regular amount paid in France — and on Friday and Saturday nights and on Sundays, R$160 per hour, without never having had access to receipts or payment statements.

The woman wrote down her hours worked in a tabulated school notebook. She also accuses of not having had rest or paid vacation. Being alone in France with four children, without a written employment contract, after having the baby, she had to turn to Secours Populaire, a French charity association, to live, and Restos du Coeur, an organization that distributes food, to feed her family. .

She also knocked on the door of Femmes de la Résistance, an association that helps Brazilian women in precarious situations or who are victims of domestic violence.

The RFI report contacted the president of the association, Nellma Barretto, to talk to the woman, but the Brazilian was very shaken by the whole incident and did not want to give an interview.

“It is unacceptable that, when your name is Neymar, you take advantage of the vulnerability of an undocumented woman, and a compatriot at that. This is called human exploitation”, lamented Nellma to Le Parisien.

THE ACCUSATION

Last June, Caroline Toby and Vincent Champetier, the Brazilian’s lawyers, sent a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt to Neymar’s home in an attempt to reach an amicable agreement. Although he had not yet left for Saudi Arabia and was still in Bougival, the letter went unanswered. They are also asking the court to inform the Paris public prosecutor about the crime of undeclared work, as required by law.

“Neymar exploited our client’s precarious position to impose unworthy working conditions on her, violating the basic rules of labor law,” the lawyers explain. “We regret the fact that such a personality could have demonstrated such inhumanity, going so far as to expel our client from her home a few days before she gave birth prematurely, when she was complaining of pain. We are now considering taking legal action that this case deserves it”, they told the newspaper.

The report sought the player’s advice, but received no response.