Une illustration du pouvoir disciplinaire de l’employeur en cas de non-respect des règles internes de l’entreprise (En anglais)
Bastille Day Newsletter 2021 - Enforcement & Court Decisions
On 11 March 2021, the Court of Appeal of Angers issued an interesting decision on the consequences of a non-compliance with internal company procedures by an employee, ruling that did not constitute a serious misconduct but that such misconduct likely to give grounds for a real and serious cause for dismissal under French labor law[i].
I. The employee committed by not following the internal policies a fault of such a nature as to give a real and serious cause to his dismissal
In France, an employer can only dismiss an employee if he can prove a real and serious cause for such dismissal[ii], i.e., an objective cause which is sufficiently important to justify the termination of the employment contract[iii].
Serious cause for dismissal should not be confused with the notion of serious misconduct, which is defined by case law as facts constituting a breach of obligations resulting from the employment contract of such importance that they make it impossible for the employee to remain in the company[iv].
In the case at hand, a company dismissed its sales and marketing manager of an armament company for serious misconduct, on the grounds he had arranged a meeting to sign an international contract with a distributor based in the United Arab Emirates, without respecting the internal control procedure in force, which provided for an obligation to alert the management and due to the fact that the contract was not validated either in form or in substance, thus exposing the company and its managers to particularly high risks[v].
Whereas in the first instance, the court had considered that the dismissal was devoid of real and serious cause, the Court of Appeal of Angers, on the contrary, judged that the sales and marketing manager, with regard to his level of responsibility and the particular nature of the activity of the company, had committed by not going through the validation process, a fault of such a nature as to give a real and serious cause to the dismissal[vi].
But, on the other hand, the Court of Appeal considered that there was no reason to qualify the dismissal of serious misconduct since, even if the breach committed was a faulty abstention in view of the context, it did not reflect any bad faith or disloyalty on the part of the sales and marketing director and did not have the effect of putting the company in a situation of serious and immediate danger so that it was impossible to maintain his employment contract[vii].
II. An illustration of the exercise of the employer’s disciplinary power in case of breaches of internal policies
Beyond the employment law aspect of this decision, this decision has great consequences regarding the enforcement and execution of compliance requirements resulting from the law n°2016-1691 of 9 December 2016 on transparency, fight against corruption and modernization of economic life (called “Sapin 2” law) and it makes it an interesting decision for the fight against corruption.
Indeed, article 17 of this law requires, mainly companies with more than 500 employees and revenues of more than 100 million euros, to take measures to prevent and detect the commission of acts of corruption or influence peddling among which the establishment of a disciplinary system allowing the company’s employees to be sanctioned in the event of a violation of the company’s code of conduct[viii].
This decision is thus an illustration of the exercise of the employer’s disciplinary power in case of breaches of internal anti-corruption and influence peddling procedures. It is a reminder of the importance of the prevention system and the zero tolerance that should be applied in view of the risks incurred by companies, as the Court of Appeal underlines by specifying that the sales and marketing director committed “a clumsiness revealing a poor appreciation of the extent of his responsibilities which could have had unfortunate consequences for the company”[ix].
While some may regret that the judges did not find serious misconduct in the failure to comply with internal compliance procedures, the fact remains that the decision reflects an important consideration of the latter. In any event, this is the illustration that compliance requirements take an ever more important place.
Contenu similaire
Événement
6 février 2023
Comment réunir les éléments de preuve et conduire les entretiens ?
Retrouvez les différentes étapes et conditions d’une enquête interne efficace et respectueuse des intérêts légitimes des personnes impliquées : de...
Publication
13 janvier 2023
Navacelle co-auteur du Guide du praticien des enquêtes internationales (2023)
NAVACELLE co-auteur du chapitre français de la septième édition du guide du praticien des enquêtes internationales publiées par le Global Investigations...
Événement
24 novembre 2022
Table ronde – Allégations & Enquêtes
Stéphane de Navacelle a participé à la conférence annuelle de l'IFACI " Demain en mains " sur le thème Allégations...
Événement
13 octobre 2022
Formation – Entreprises et droits humains : regards européens
Stéphane de Navacelle a participé à la formation sur l'entreprise et les droits humains organisé par la Délégation des Barreaux...
Analyse
10 octobre 2022
Enquête interne et obligation de sécurité de l’employeur
La Chambre sociale de la Cour de cassation a rendu une décision récente relative à une enquête interne conduite en...
Revue de presse
30 septembre 2022
Revue de presse – Semaine du 26 septembre 2022
Cette semaine vous retrouvez une analyse sur un arrêt récent de la Cour de cassation qui rappelle les obligations légales...
Publication
15 juillet 2022
Livre blanc Enquête interne en matière sociale
L’appréhension par la matière sociale de l’enquête interne. Dans le contexte du développement de la pratique de l’enquête interne ces...
Analyse
14 juillet 2022
Guide pratique de l’AFA et du PNF sur l’enquête interne anticorruption...
L'enquête interne, en tant que modulateur dans la détection de faits de corruption ou trafic d'influence, représente un outil fondamental...
Revue de presse
24 juin 2022
Revue de presse – Semaine du 20 juin 2022
Cette semaine vous découvrirez le nouvel article du code pénal qui harmonise la répression de la prise illégale d’intérêt, une...
Publication
19 avril 2022
La responsabilité pénale des entreprises en droit français, une décennie de changements spectaculaires (en anglais)...
Introduction de la loi française, dans le journal de l'Institut japonais du droit des affaires internationales, sur la responsabilité pénale...
Publication
11 avril 2022
L’après Sapin 2 : de simples ajustements pratiques ou une vraie révolution ?
La loi du 9 décembre 2016, dite loi Sapin 2, a ouvert une nouvelle ère de la lutte anticorruption en...
Revue de presse
25 mars 2022
Revue de presse – Semaine du 21 mars 2022
Dans cette revue de presse, vous retrouverez notamment des articles sur la deuxième CJIP environnementale conclue cette semaine par le...
Nous utilisons des cookies pour optimiser notre site web et notre service.
Fonctionnel
Toujours activé
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Préférences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistiques
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.