Fr En
Diaporama
You are here :
  1. Home
  2. Teleworking from another country without informing the employer may constitute grounds for dismissal

Teleworking from another country without informing the employer may constitute grounds for dismissal

Published on : 30/07/2026 30 July Jul 07 2026
Newsletter / Recent Case Law
Newsletter

Can an employee who decides to work remotely from Pakistan without informing his employer be dismissed, including for gross misconduct (Faute grave)? 

In a judgement of 22 January 2026, the Versailles Court of Appeal ruled that such breaches, although established, constituted a genuine and serious ground for dismissal but not gross misconduct, given that they were isolated incidents and that the employee had remained at the employer’s disposal (Versailles Court of Appeal, 22 January 2026, n° 23/0356).

The principle of remote working
Article L. 1222-9 of the French Labor Code defines remote working (Télétravail) as “a form of work organisation in which a task that could have been carried out on the employer’s premises is performed outside those premises, on a voluntary basis, using information and communication technologies”. In practice, it is most often carried out at the employee’s home, but it is possible to restrict the location of the work more specifically.

In the absence of specific rules, remote working may, in principle, be carried out outside the employee’s home, subject to any restrictions set by the employer. Furthermore, remote work from foreign countries is not regulated by the law and could be expressly prohibited or subject to prior authorization within the company.

In this specific case, an IT project manager had been hired in March 2020. A few months later, the employer was alerted to connections from Pakistan to sensitive parts of the IT system that were deemed suspicious, before learning that the employee was in fact working remotely from that country.

The employer imposed a conservatory suspension (Mise à pied conservatoire), followed by dismissal for gross misconduct (Licenciement pour faute grave), reproaching the employee for leaving France without informing the company, for failing to comply with the rules governing remote working, and for breaching IT security requirements. The employee contested the dismissal, arguing that no policy required him to work from home and that he had travelled to Pakistan for family reasons.

First, the Court of Appeal confirmed that the employee had breached his contractual obligations. It noted that the employment contract required the employee to inform his employer immediately of any change in circumstances, particularly a change of address. It also noted that the company’s collective agreement on remote working stipulated that it was to be carried out at the employee’s home. The Court of Appeal also found the employee had breached internal security rules, as the place of remote working must guarantee confidentiality and data protection. However, it dismissed the allegation of a proven threat to the IT system, as the employer had failed to demonstrate an actual or attempted intrusion.

Therefore, by working remotely from Pakistan without notifying his employer, the employee had breached his contractual obligations, which justified his dismissal. However, the court ruled out serious misconduct, as the employee had remained available to the company whilst in Pakistan.

Scope of the ruling and practical implications
This judgment serves as a reminder that working remotely from abroad is not automatic and should be explicitly addressed in a company's remote working guidelines. From an employer’s perspective, it is advisable to include a clear clause specifying authorized locations for remote working, requiring employees to report any changes to their working arrangements, and setting out precise IT security rules.
Share on
Publish this article Share on LinkedIn Share on Facebook Send by E-mail

History

<< < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ... > >>