Can the employer be registered during a pre-dismissal interview?
Publié le 07 septembre 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
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The recording, without the employer's knowledge, of an interview prior to dismissal does not affect the privacy of the employer. This is the solution adopted by the Court of Cassation in a judgment delivered by the Criminal Chamber on 12 April 2023.
An employee is summoned prior to his dismissal. He is accompanied by a union representative who registers the employer during the interview without his agreement. For the employer, this is unfair. He filed a complaint and became a civil party on the basis of the offense of invasion of privacy. The investigating judge shall issue an order of non-suit. The employer is appealing this decision.
The Metz Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the investigating judge. The employer then appeals to the Court of Cassation.
The Criminal Division of the Court of Cassation dismisses the appeal because the registration does not affect the privacy of the employer. Even if the recorded statements were made in a private place, they were made solely in the context of professional activity.
