Can an employer intervene in issues relating to an employee’s personal relationships, which are inherently a private matter, and what constraints exist on such intervention? These questions were addressed by a recent ruling by the French Supreme Court on March 26, 2025. An employee who held the position of Manager of partnerships and institutional
Requesting an employee to provide an explanation of his or her acts may be interpreted as a disciplinary sanction
The legal background
French employment law strictly regulates the disciplinary power that an employer can exercise over its employees. In particular, one fundamental rule states that an employer cannot discipline an employee twice for the same fact. This means that if an employee has been disciplined for misconduct, a new sanction based on the same