Requested 279 times by her employer during her sick leave and vacation, she contests her dismissal

Continuing to make an employee work during sick leave or paid leave may constitute a case of harassment, the Court of Cassation ruled on October 21. The high court was called upon to resolve the dispute between the company Packmat system, a producer of waste compactors based in Héricourt (Haute-Saône), and a former sales manager. The latter was able to demonstrate no less than 279 requests from this employer, between October 31, 2019 and May 11, 2020, during periods of partial activity linked to the pandemic, paid leave and sick leave. Not to mention a proposal to participate in a commercial seminar during a suspension of his employment contract.

After a new work stoppage from January 2021, the employee was declared unfit for her position, without the possibility of reclassification, then dismissed in October 2021. She argued that the repeated requests from her employer had aggravated her anxiety disorders. She therefore asked the judges for damages for moral harassment and the annulment of her dismissal. The Chambery Court of Appeal rejected her requests because it considered that the multiple requests constituted a “single fact”, that of working during periods when the employee did not have to do so. This was therefore insufficient to suggest harassment.

The Court of Cassation does not agree. She points out that moral harassment can result from the repetition of actions of the same nature: it is not necessary for the employee to experience several different types of behavior. Repeated professional requests during periods when he does not have to work must therefore be examined as possible acts of harassment, taking into account the entire file, particularly medical. The high court therefore referred the case to the Grenoble Court of Appeal, so that it could rule in light of these elements.