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Human Resources
Can an employee who cannot be reached on his or her phone outside working hours be punished?
Publié le 12 novembre 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
An employee who cannot be reached on his personal mobile phone outside his working hours cannot be sanctioned by his employer. This is what the Court of Cassation said in a judgment delivered on October 9, 2024.
An employee is dismissed for serious misconduct by his employer. The employee filed a lawsuit and requested the cancelation of the 3 warnings he received for not responding on his personal mobile phone outside working hours.
The appeals court dismisses his application. According to her:
- the employee had previously always agreed to be contacted during his days off for work reasons;
- the need to contact the employer on the eve of a resumption of service on the missions to be performed is not prohibited by the collective agreement, nor abnormal in view of the sector of activity (road transport);
- the employee did not follow the instructions for returning to work after an absence.
The employee appeals to the Court of Cassation.
The Court of Cassation contradicts the appeal decision and annuls the disciplinary sanctions imposed on the employee. In her view, the employer cannot punish an employee who cannot be reached on her personal phone outside working hours. The employee had therefore not committed any fault.
Please note
The Court of Cassation also held in that judgment that the following infringements constituted grave misconduct making it impossible for the employee to remain in the company:
- insulting a manager on a social network via his public profile;
- responding to comments on a social network while driving on a snow-covered road (characterized by serious recklessness).