The Court of Cassation has confirmed an important principle: where a pay element is paid on a regular and consistent basis over a long period, it may acquire contractual status, regardless of any written clause in the employment contract. This means that the employer can no longer remove it unilaterally; the employee’s consent must be obtained.
In this case, an employee had received on-call allowances every year for nine consecutive years, amounting to between 47% and 58% of his annual salary. The Court found that the regularity and consistency of payment meant the allowances had been incorporated into the employee’s contractual remuneration. As a further consequence, the allowances were required to be included in the reference salary used to calculate severance pay and any damages.
This principle applies even where the original payments were made in error.
Cass. Soc., 4 March 2026, no. 24-17.248
