Publié le 30/09/2026

French labour law - Employer's failure to comply with the occupational physician's recommendations = employee's right to compensation - Necessary harm (reversal of precedent) - (cass soc, 9/09/2026, 25-11.901)

Article juridique - Droit du travail

The saga of "necessary harm" continues.

An employer's failure to comply with the occupational physician's safety recommendations constitutes necessary harm for the employee, who does not need to demonstrate the resulting damage to be compensated.

The French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) affirms that it is now appropriate to rule that the mere finding of an employer's failure to comply with the occupational physician's recommendations regarding individual measures for adjusting, adapting, or modifying the workstation, which inevitably leads to harm to the safety and health of the employee concerned, gives rise to a right to compensation.

The judgment of September 9, 2026 (25-11.901) is published in the official bulletin.

This ruling must be upheld.

III- Solution.

It follows that it must now be ruled that the mere fact that an employer fails to comply with the recommendations made by the occupational physician regarding individual measures for adjusting, adapting, or modifying the workstation, which inevitably results in harm to the safety and health of the employee concerned, gives rise to a right to compensation.

Every employer has a health and safety obligation towards their employees.

"An employer who disregards the recommendations of the occupational physician commits a fault that necessarily causes harm to the employee."

The employer's failure to comply with the recommendations of the occupational physician, particularly regarding the adaptation of an employee's workstation, constitutes a fault that entitles the employee to compensation, since the disregard for these legal provisions necessarily causes her harm.

The employee did not have to demonstrate here that her employer's compliance with the occupational physician's recommendations had a positive impact on her health, nor that the failure to comply with the recommendations had a negative impact, and even less a causal link between her possible harm and the breach committed.

En effet, le seul fait pour l’employeur d’avoir ignoré ces préconisations cause nécessairement un préjudice à la salariée, peu importe que son état de santé s’en trouve impacté ou non.

IV- Analysis.

This decision marks a return to the theory of necessary harm.

Furthermore, the publication of the ruling in the Bulletin and the Report demonstrates a clear intention on the part of the Court of Cassation to widely disseminate its reversal on this matter.

The Court of Cassation's use of the term "henceforth" in paragraph 11 clearly marks the reversal effected by this ruling and the de facto break with its previous case law.

The question now arises as to the scope of this reversal: is it limited to the specific case of disregarding the recommendations of the occupational physician, or is necessary harm likely to be recognized in a broader context of breach of the employer's health and safety obligations?

Perhaps the Court of Cassation will have the opportunity to clarify this at a later date.

Already in 2016, following a widely discussed reversal of precedent on April 13, in which the Court of Cassation, concerning the late delivery of termination documents, ruled that "the existence of harm and its assessment fall within the sovereign power of the lower courts," the High Court's position remained rather uncertain. To support its ruling, the Court of Cassation cited two judgments from September 4, 2024, in which it recognized, firstly, the necessary harm resulting from an employer's failure to require an employee to work during sick leave (no. 23-15.944), and secondly, the necessary harm resulting from an employer's failure to fulfill its obligation to suspend all work during an employee's maternity leave (no. 22-16.129). The increasing number of cases recognizing necessary harm that entitles the injured party to compensation is an additional guarantee of compliance with the employer's obligations, particularly in matters of health and safety.

Sources.