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Cass. soc., 22 mai 2024, n°22-14.984, Publié au bulletin
In this case, an employee was hired as an engineer by a telecommunications company on 31 December 2013.
On 30 June 2014, the employee was informed that his contract was to be transferred to another company. As the employee was protected, permission was sought from the labour inspector. The inspector approved the transfer on 8 September 2014.
Two years later, the employee filed a claim with the Labour Court for payment of an additional bonus for 2014, as well as challenging the terms of the transfer of his employment contract and claiming payment of various sums for unfair dismissal.
The lower courts dismissed the employee’s claims relating to the transfer of his employment contract on the grounds that the Labour Inspectorate had authorised his transfer by a now final decision of 8 September 2014 and that it was not for the court to rule on the transfer thus authorised.
He then appealed to the French Supreme Court. In support of his appeal, he argued that the Court of Appeal should have examined, as he had requested, whether, in the case of an authorised transfer, it was not for the Court of Appeal to verify whether the employee had given his express consent to the change of employer, thereby excluding the application of Article L.1224-1 of the Labour Code.
The Social Division of the Court of Cassation dismissed the employee’s appeal and upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal that it was not for the court to rule on the authorised transfer (whether or not it had been carried out in accordance with Article L.1224-1 of the Labour Code) in respect of which the illegality of the administrative decision had not been challenged.
The fact that the transfer of a protected employee is a voluntary transfer to which the employee must give his express consent, an agreement that does not fall within the scope of control of the labour inspectorate, does not give the court jurisdiction to rule on the matter.