In this case, an employer had contacted the GP of one of his sales employees, who was off sick. The employer wanted to complete the necessary administrative formalities with the social security fund and check that the dates on the employee’s sick leave certificate were correct.
The employee was subsequently dismissed for:
- submitting a backdated sick note; and
- telling her doctor that, as a seamstress, she was unable to perform her ‘usual tasks’ and use her thumb to sew, despite the fact that she was a sales assistant and only occasionally had to use pins.
The employer had therefore obtained information about the employee’s medical condition and the comments she had made during the medical consultation. They then used this information to support her dismissal.
However, employees are entitled to respect for their private life, including their state of health and their relationship with their doctor.
The Court of Cassation ruled that any dismissal based, even in part, on information that is covered by medical confidentiality and which thus violates the right to privacy (a fundamental freedom) is invalid.
Employers should therefore not contact the employee’s doctor, bearing mind that there is an occupational health medicine service in France. In any event, any and all contact should not aim to uncover information that is protected by principles of professional confidentiality.
