Under French legislation, a whistleblower is a person who reports or discloses, without direct financial compensation and in good faith, information relating to a crime, offence, threat or harm to the public interest, a violation or attempted concealment of a violation of an international commitment duly ratified or approved by France, a unilateral act of an international organisation taken on the basis of such a commitment, European Union law, or a law or regulation.
The termination of an employment contract on the grounds of whistleblowing is null and void.
The law establishes a probative regime in favour of whistleblowers. Thus, in the event of a complaint against a reprisal measure, once the claimant has presented facts that suggest that they have made a whistleblowing alert (reported or disclosed information in accordance with the conditions laid down by law), it is incumbent on the defendant to prove that their decision is duly justified. The Court will form its opinion after ordering, where necessary, any investigative measures it deems useful.
In this case, the employer criticised the employee for persistent relationship and management difficulties in a dismissal letter. It was able to demonstrate that the decision to dismiss was justified by objective factors unrelated to the employee’s statement or testimony and therefore unrelated to her whistleblowing. The request to annul the dismissal was therefore rejected.
