The forfait-jour arrangement is a system of calculating the fixed number of annual working days for employees whose tasks do not allow them to follow collective timetables or who have genuine autonomy in the performance of their duties.(1) To what extent does the autonomy of an employee on a forfait-jour contract allow for exemptions from certain time or organisational constraints that are inherent to their status as an employee?
This question was answered by the Court of Cassation in a decision dated 2 February 2022.(2) In the case, a veterinarian was employed by a clinic on a forfait-jour contract. Her employer had sent her an attendance schedule, which was organised into half-days and days of attendance and absence therein. The schedule had been put together considering the interests of the company and the employee's family obligations. However, the employee did not follow schedule and was dismissed for serious misconduct by her employer, who accused her of repeated absences during compulsory attendance periods.
The employee contested her dismissal, arguing that, as her contract was based on a forfait-jour arrangement, she had autonomy when organising her working time.
However, this argument was rejected by the judges, who validated the disciplinary dismissal.
The Court of Cassation agreed with the Court of Appeal and stated that the forfait-jour agreement does not give employees the right to organise their working time independently of their employer.
The use of a forfait-jour contract does not, therefore, exclude the possibility for the employer to impose organisational constraints on employees who are subject to such contracts (eg, attendance at mandatory meetings or pre-defined working periods) as long as this is justified by the constraints of the company and the employee is free to organise their working day outside such constraints.
For further information on this topic please contact Marion Guertault or Hélène De Nazelle at Hogan Lovells by telephone (+33 1 53 67 47 47) or email ([email protected]​hoganlovells.com or [email protected]). The Hogan Lovells website can be accessed at www.hoganlovells.com.
Endnotes