French appeals court has ruled in favor of an employee who was fired after reporting a colleague for theft. The events occurred in May 2022 in a factory in northern France, when a night shift worker saw a colleague leaving with metal bars. cConvinced to be witnessing a robberyhe immediately alerted his team leader.
The superior assured him that the recovery had been authorized because the metal had to be taken to the container. The employee, however, stood firm and the next morning he contacted the factory manager directly, describing the situation as “theft”, as reported by the French media. .
but everything it ended up turning against him. The team leader reproached him for the call, which he described as “inopportune.” Later, in addition, the witness employee and the accused met. First words were spoken, but then the tension increased and a fight broke out. A few days later, the complaining employee received a dismissal letter for serious misconducte, accusing him of provoking the fight and ignoring management instructions.
Before a labor court in the spring of 2023, the dismissal was considered justified and he even had to pay 1,500 euros to his former employer, to which he decided to appeal. His lawyer argued in the Court of Appeal that the complaint was made in good faith and was protected by the employee’s freedom of expression, guaranteed by the Labor Code.
“The employee retains his freedom of expression, except in cases of abuse. That is, unless he makes insulting, defamatory or excessive comments. In this case, he simply expressed his doubts, without the intention of causing harm. This type of decision serves as a reminder that a fair report, even if it is clumsy, should not be used against the person presenting it,” explained the labor lawyer.
And, this time, the court concluded that there was no evidence of intention to cause harm, which is why it established that the dismissal occurred without real and serious cause. For this reason, he has ordered the company to pay his former employee almost 25,480 euros: 5,771 in advance notice, 577 in paid vacations, 6,132 in compensation for dismissal, 10,000 in damages and 3,000 in legal costs.
