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Prevention
A whistle-blower employee who reports a crime is not obliged to act in a disinterested manner
Publié le 30 novembre 2023 - Legal and Administrative Information Directorate (Prime Minister)
An employee who has knowledge of a criminal offense or a crime in the course of his duties is not required to act in a disinterested manner. He cannot be fired for this reason, unless in bad faith. This can only result from knowledge of the falsehood of the facts which he denounces. The Court of Cassation said so in a September 13, 2023, judgment published in the Bulletin.
An employee is dismissed for serious misconduct after reporting illegal practices by his employer. In the present case, those facts related to the failure to comply with the rules governing safety businesses. He is challenging his dismissal before the judge.
The Court of Appeal annulled the dismissal of the employee on the ground that the employee was acting in good faith and acting selflessly. The employer appeals to the Court of Cassation.
The Court of Cassation dismisses the appeal and relies solely on the good faith of the employee in the absence of false allegations on his part to declare the dismissal void. The Court adds that an employee who reports or testifies to facts constituting an offense or a crime must not more necessarily acting disinterested.
Thus, where the facts complained of constitute of an offense or a crime, the whistleblower employee must have acted good faith and without financial consideration.