Are French employers obligated to initiate internal investigations upon receiving harassment complaints?
Cass. soc., 12 June 2024, n° 23-13.975
Are French employers obligated to initiate internal investigations upon receiving harassment complaints?
According to the French Supreme Court, not necessarily, as long as sufficient measures to protect the employee's health and safety are taken.
Quick reminders:
Harassment-related investigations have been a hot topic in recent years, due to an increase in harassment claims, and ever-developing case law.
French employers have a general obligation to protect the health and safety of their employees: all necessary steps must be taken to prevent and put an end to any moral or sexual harassment. In other words, employers cannot remain passive when allegations of harassment are brought to their attention.
In the case at hand (French Supreme Court, 12 June 2024, n° 23-13.975) the employee claimed that her former employer failed to protect her health and safety, as the company did not launch an investigation after she alleged to be victim of moral harassment.
The French Supreme Court ruled in favor of the employer, as sufficient measures (other than a formal investigation) were taken to protect the employee, i.e.:
The company's General Manager "took a stance" on the conflict between the claimant and the alleged harasser (the ruling unfortunately does not go into details here).
The employee received clarifications on her role within the organization just three days after her request to this end.
The ruling also underlines that the employee went on sick leave as of September 2019, while the Company was only informed of the potential harassment situation on 14 August 2019 (which probably made it difficult to conduct a fully-fledged investigation).
While this ruling offers insights into French employer responsibilities, I would recommend not overstating its implications for HR practitioners. Conducting thorough, expert-led investigations remains crucial for navigating (often complex) harassment cases, identifying effective remedies and evidencing employers' commitment to workplace health and safety.