The employer is not required to fund the employee's access to a new occupation
Cass. soc., 9 April 2026, n° 24-22.122
The employer is not required to fund the employee's access to a new occupation under its training obligation.
In this case, a medico-psychological care assistant had passed the entrance exams for the specialized educator training program.
Her employer had refused her requests to fund the individual training for the State diploma of specialized educator, lasting three years.
The court of appeal had found that the employer's refusal amounted to a breach of its training obligation serious enough to justify the judicial termination (résiliation judiciaire) of the contract attributable to the employer, noting in particular that:
four employees holding the same position, whose requests were more recent, were able to receive this funding;
the employee's training requests did not appear on the training plan;
the training she attended had not been requested by her but imposed by the employer;
this refusal prevented the employee (on continuous sick leave since 2017) from applying for available positions compatible with her state of health.
Ruling set aside by the French Supreme Court:
Article L. 6321-1 of the French Labor Code provides that the employer has an obligation to keep employees fit for their role, to maintain their ability to hold a job — having regard in particular to changes in jobs, technologies and organizations — where necessary by providing them with additional training.
However, the employer cannot be required to provide the initial training the employee lacks in order to give them access to an available position of a different qualification from the one they hold.
Train to remain employable, not to move into another occupation!
Source: French Supreme Court, 9 April 2026, appeal n° 24-22.122