Recent decisions have broadened the scope of what constitutes harassment under French law, reinforcing the accountability of employers and corporate leadership.
For several years, both case law and the legislator have expanded the definition of harassment in both its moral and sexual dimensions in order to strengthen employee protection. Two landmark cases have been particularly influential – centred on institutional moral harassment and discriminatory harassment – signalling a shift toward a more protective and nuanced legal framework for employees.
In a decision in January – the France Telecom Case - the Court of Cassation established the concept of institutional moral harassment.
This case stemmed from a drastic restructuring plan initiated in 2006, which aimed to eliminate 22,000 jobs out of a total of approximately 120,000 employees. Following a criminal complaint the former executives and the company, suspected of having implemented a corporate policy of destabilisation with a view to accelerating departure rates among employees, departed, were indicted and then convicted.
The court ruled that harassment does not require identification of specific victims. It is sufficient that the acts were intended to degrade working conditions. The intent to harm was inferred from a pattern of deliberate actions over several years, forming a “strategy of harassment” at the highest levels of management.
Institutional harassment was characterised by “...
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