France: Being Unreachable on Personal Phone on a Day Off is Not Misconduct

On 9 October 2024, the French Supreme Court ruled that an employee cannot be sanctioned on the basis that he was not reachable on his personal phone even if it was because his employer needed to inform him of a change in schedule.

A truck driver was supposed to check his schedule for the next day. His employer sanctioned him for not doing so and for being  unreachable on his personal phone when his employer wanted to communicate the schedule to him. The French Supreme Court ruled that this cannot be the basis for a disciplinary sanction due to the right to disconnect, which is the law of 8 August 2016 that aims to protect employees’ time of rest and personal and family life.

Key Action Points for Human Resources and In-House Counsel

Ensure that employees are not contacted outside the company’s working hours and/or days off.