Facts
This case concerns a claim for severance pay for long service relationships filed by Ms. [P.] against the public limited company S. Ms. [P.] worked for more than 30 years for various employers, including the sole proprietorship of Mr. [G.] and the general partnership [B.], and then the public limited company [S.], of which Mr. [G.] was the main shareholder.
The Labor Court of Geneva dismissed the claim, but the Labor Court of Appeal ordered company [S.] to pay compensation to Ms. P. Company [S.] then filed an appeal for reform with the Federal Tribunal.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal dismissed the appeal. It considered that Ms. P.'s employment relationships with [B.] and [S.] should be regarded as a single employment relationship within the meaning of Art. 339b CO, despite the interruption of more than 4 years between 1959 and 1964.
Indeed, the Tribunal found that the parties' intention was to renew the former employment relationship in 1964, given the close personal ties between Ms. [P.] and the [B.] company. Furthermore, when [S.] took over part of the [B.] company in…