France: French Supreme Court Clarifies Employers’ Right to Dismiss Workers Who Speak Out at Work

In 3 recent cases dated 14 January 2026, the French Supreme Court has slightly changed its position on the way lower courts can decide if employees can be dismissed on the grounds that they went beyond their fundamental right to freedom of expression in the workplace.

French law provides that an employee’s freedom of expression can only be restricted by their employer if this is justified and proportionate. This, therefore, means that, in principle, dismissing an employee for exercising his/her rights to freedom of expression is null and void.

In the past, the courts would seek to ascertain whether an employee had abused their right to free speech. Following the recent rulings, courts are now asked to instead balance the employee’s right to freedom of expression with the employer’s right to protect their legitimate interests. This should make it easier for employers to win such cases if they can demonstrate why sanctioning the employee was justified.

In the recent rulings, the French Supreme Court thus decided that the fact that an employee sent 2 drawings criticizing management to the HR Manager could not, in itself, justify a dismissal without considering the context that led the employee to send such drawings and the impact on the company and the person mocked in the drawings. However, the dismissal of an employee who had spoken aggressively to his colleagues and refused to carry out certain tasks which were part of his job description could be deemed justified as was the case for an employee who had expressed his lack of trust in his management even if he did not use any insults or defamatory terms.

 

Key Action Points for Human Resources and In-House Counsel

Seek legal advice before dismissing an employee based on inappropriate comments in the workplace.