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Human Resources
Is the nullity of the flat-rate agreement days sufficient to prove the existence of damage?
Publié le 02 avril 2025 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
The recognition of the nullity of a lump sum agreement in days does not allow the existence of damage suffered by the employee to be demonstrated. He must therefore prove that he has suffered separate harm. The Court of Cassation said so in a March 11, 2025, judgment published in the Bulletin.
Reminder
The flat-rate agreement in days is a document which provides for the employee a working time different from the legal or contractual duration, on the basis of a fixed amount in days per year.
An employee on a fixed-day basis is dismissed by her employer. She is challenging her dismissal in court and seeking damages for violating her right to health, rest and a normal family life. It claims that the provisions of the collective agreement which established the flat-rate agreement in days did not sufficiently protect this right.
The Court of Appeal dismisses the employee’s claim for compensation for her loss. According to her, the flat-rate agreement in days is null and void; nevertheless, the employee does not demonstrate the existence of any harm that she has suffered. She's filing a cassation appeal.
The Court of Cassation dismisses the appeal. In its view, only the payment of overtime owing to the nullity of the flat-rate agreement in days is due. The employee must therefore to demonstrate any distinct damage resulting therefrom.
Thus, the mere invalidity of the agreement does not make it possible to recognize the existence of harm to the employee.