A pharmacy technician from the south of France, who worked for 27 years in the same pharmacy, will receive 34,800 euros in compensation after being fired for not having the qualifications required for the position. The Court of Marriage considered that the situation resulted from a boss’s faultas the responsibility for verifying professional qualifications fell to the employer, who failed to do so for decades.
According to the French newspaper La Dépêche, the case will still have to be re-analyzed by the Court of Appeal due to an appeal filed.
The beginning of the situation
In 1998, the pharmacy technician signed her first contract, starting to work dressed in a white coat, even without the diploma required by law. For almost 30 years, his career ran smoothly, until the pharmacy changed ownership.
When reviewing the records, the new managers discovered that the employee did not have the legally required qualifications, transforming a previously unnoticed situation into a legal problem.
The decisive inspection
At the end of 2017, an inspection by the Regional Health Agency (ARS) officially confirmed the absence of the diploma. The employer attempted to contact the employee verbally and by letter, but as she was on sick leave, she did not respond. Shortly afterwards, she was suspended and, later, fired for alleged serious misconduct, accused of bad faith and having omitted information about her qualifications.
The worker always maintained that she had not hidden anything and that her situation had been previously authorized. The error occurred because the new owners of the pharmacy did not check the records when taking over the establishment, maintaining the situation for years without documentary control.
Court decision and appeals
In 2021, the labor court declared the dismissal unfounded and ordered the payment of 34,800 euros in compensation. The pharmacy appealed, and in 2023 the Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the employer, claiming that the technician had not fulfilled the duty of loyalty. This decision forced the worker to bear the costs of the process.
In the following appeal to the Marriage Court, the decision was reversed again. The court concluded that the employer, by keeping the employee for decades without checking her qualifications, could not now attribute negligence to her. Henri Guyot, labor lawyer at Aerige, explained that the error probably occurred during the transition of the pharmacy, when the new owners took over the team without checking the files. He also highlighted that, in regulated professions, it is always up to the company to verify the qualifications of workers.
Employer’s responsibility
The case returns to the Court of Appeal for further consideration, but the high court’s decision makes it clear that it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that workers comply with legal requirements. Compensation demonstrates that monitoring of standards cannot be transferred to the worker.
Situation in Portugal
In Portugal, dismissals for alleged lack of qualifications in regulated professions follow the Labor Code, which provides for just cause when there is a culpable breach of duties. Even so, it is up to the employer to prove the facts that justify the dismissal.
The employer must demonstrate the seriousness of the situation and the need for the measure, and the worker can challenge it in court. Recent jurisprudence indicates that, if the employment relationship continues for years without verification of qualifications, this omission weighs on the decision on the legality of the dismissal and may lead to its being declared unfounded.
The Working Conditions Authority monitors compliance with standards and can intervene when there are flaws in document verification in regulated sectors, and may impose fines or other measures. According to , these inspections are essential to protect workers and customers, ensuring that administrative errors do not penalize those who act legally.
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