Team building has become an essential corporate event.

Danish director William SEHESTED HØEG made a film about it, "THE COMPLAINT," currently airing on Arte: Between Absurd Activities and Toxicity of Group Dynamics (https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/118977-000-A/the-complaint/).

Team building events often include fun activities: company parties, escape games, orienteering, karaoke, cooking classes, and bungee jumping.

But these activities aren't always to employees' liking.

That's why we offer a team building survival guide for employees, managers, and senior executives.

1) Team Building = Actual Work Time?

Actual working time is "the time during which the employee is at the employer's disposal and complies with their instructions without being able to freely pursue personal activities" (Article L 3121-1 of the French Labor Code).

Based on this definition, a team building activity must be considered actual working time if it is imposed by the employer, carried out under their instructions during working hours, and does not allow employees to freely pursue their personal activities.

Conversely, if participation is optional, the activity takes place outside of normal working hours (evenings, weekends), and is a recreational or festive activity with no direct connection to professional duties, then this activity may not be considered actual working time.

The judges make a specific assessment.

1.1) Can I request payment for overtime worked during team building?

Yes, provided it can be demonstrated that the time spent on team building is indeed considered actual working time.

Conversely, overtime will not be due because this working time is not actual working time.

In this regard, in a decision dated March 20, 2025, the Versailles Court of Appeal recently rejected an employee's claim for overtime payment for "time spent at an after-work cocktail party or a team-building weekend, even though this was not time during which the employee was at the employer's disposal and complied with their instructions without being able to freely pursue personal activities" (Versailles Court of Appeal, Social Chamber 4-5, March 20, 2025, No. 23/01544).

1.2) Does my employer have to respect the maximum authorized working hours?

Yes.

If you are going on a week-long team building exercise, your working hours should, in principle, not exceed the following limits:

- a maximum daily duration of 10 hours;

- a weekly duration of 48 hours.

Furthermore, even if your day is punctuated by activities, your employer must always provide a break of at least 20 minutes every 6 hours.

However, compliance with legal working hours is not always possible.

For example, if employees go hiking to Mont Blanc for a team building exercise.

In this case, we believe the employer must provide compensatory rest after the team building exercise.

2) Is team building mandatory?

At first glance, participating in a team building exercise does not seem to be a professional obligation. However, two situations must be distinguished:

- If the team building activity is organized during working hours and the activities are related to the performance of the employment contract (for example, if they aim to improve professional skills), participation in the team building activity may be made mandatory because it is considered actual working time.

- If the team building activity is organized outside of working hours (e.g., on weekends) and the activities are solely for recreational purposes, then your participation cannot be made mandatory.

3) Can I be fired if I refuse to attend a team building activity?

No.

Even when the team building activity is mandatory, you have the right to assert your fundamental rights and freedoms, such as freedom of expression, the right to respect for private and family life, or freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.

Thus, it has been ruled that the employee was entitled to refuse to participate in a team building activity due to legitimate family constraints. In a ruling dated November 9, 2022, the Court of Cassation overturned the Court of Appeal's decision, holding that a Senior Director had not committed any abuse in the exercise of his freedom of expression and opinion by refusing to accept the company's policy and team-building activities based on sharing the value of "fun and pro." Abstention can therefore also constitute a manifestation of freedom of expression and be protected as such (Cass. soc., November 9, 2022, no. 21-15-208).

Ruling on remand, the Paris Court of Appeal ruled the dismissal null and void, based not on a violation of freedom of expression, but on the inherent protection against moral harassment (Paris Court of Appeal, Division 6, Chapter 11, January 30, 2024, No. 23/00942).

4) Can I refuse certain team building activities? Which ones?

Yes.

Generally speaking, you can refuse to perform tasks that are not part of the normal performance of your duties.

Thus, an employee cannot be dismissed for refusing to lead a team building event if these tasks are not part of their job description.

An employee may also refuse to participate in activities that would violate their fundamental rights and freedoms (freedom of conscience, dignity, etc.) or would be detrimental to their health (such as excessive alcohol consumption) or safety (performing a dangerous activity).

Under these conditions, your refusal to participate in certain activities cannot constitute a valid reason for dismissal.

5) Is my employer bound by the same health and safety obligations during Team Building?

Yes.

The employer takes the necessary measures to ensure the safety and protect the physical and mental health of workers (Article L.4121-1 of the French Labor Code).

This obligation applies to each employee, for whom the employer is responsible for ensuring their health and safety, as well as that of other people affected by their actions or omissions at work.

This is an obligation of result, that is, an obligation by which the employer undertakes to ensure the health and safety of its employees and not simply to implement all reasonable means to achieve it. In a ruling dated October 23, 2019, the Court of Cassation upheld the dismissal for serious misconduct of a team building manager who failed to take into account the discomfort expressed by an employee during a challenge involving walking barefoot on broken glass.

The employee's fault lay not in the organization of this activity, but in failing to intervene to preserve the physical and mental well-being of his employees, in breach of his health and safety obligations (Cass. soc. 23-10-2019 no. 18-14.260 F-D).

In the context of a team building activity, your employer therefore remains bound by the same obligations.

6) If I have an accident during this team building activity, is it a work-related accident?

Yes.

The qualification of a work-related accident requires three elements:

- Demonstration of the materiality of an accidental event; - The existence of harm to the victim (physical or psychological injury);

- A professional setting.

If you are the victim of an accident during your team building activity, this accident may be reclassified as a work-related accident.

In a ruling dated June 21, 2018, the Court of Cassation ruled that an accident occurring during a free day during a seminar should be covered under occupational accident legislation.

In this case, the employee was participating in a professional seminar in La Clusaz.

The seminar's program included a leisure day where participants were free to engage in the sporting activities of their choice. The Court of Cassation deduced that during this day, which was paid as working time, the employees remained subject to the authority of the employer, organizer of the seminar, justifying the classification as an accident at work (Court of Cassation, Civil Chamber 2, June 21, 2018, 17-15.984).

7) What if I am morally or sexually harassed during a team building event?

No employee should be subjected to repeated acts of moral harassment whose purpose or effect is a deterioration of their working conditions likely to infringe on their rights and dignity, impair their physical or mental health, or compromise their professional future (Article L.1152-1 of the French Labor Code). The employer must take all necessary measures to prevent acts of moral harassment (Article L.1152-4 of the French Labor Code).

This is also an obligation of result (Cass. Soc. June 21, 2006, No. 05-43.914).

The employer therefore fails to fulfill this obligation when the employee is the victim of harassment or violence (Cass. Soc. February 3, 2010, No. 08-44019). Since team building can be considered actual work time, your employer remains bound by the same obligations as when you are in the office.

If you experience harassment during your team building activity, you must immediately report it in writing, preferably to your superiors and human resources.

Don't hesitate to file a criminal complaint with the police station or the public prosecutor.

8) What sanctions are there for "inappropriate" employee behavior during a team building activity?

During corporate events, reprehensible behavior by an employee may be punished.

The chosen sanction must, however, be proportionate to the offense committed.

Depending on its severity, the sanction can range from a simple reprimand to dismissal for serious or gross misconduct.

In the case of an offense committed during a team building activity, the challenge is to separate what is professional from what is private. In a ruling dated January 22, 2025, the Court of Cassation reiterated that an event relating to an employee's personal life cannot, in principle, justify disciplinary dismissal, unless it constitutes a breach of an obligation arising from the employment contract (Cass. soc. January 22, 2025 No. 23-10.888).

In this case, during a cruise organized by the company, an employee was accused of smoking a hookah in her cabin, which she shared with a pregnant colleague, and of blocking the smoke detector.

Her employer dismissed her for serious misconduct, considering that her behavior damaged the company's image and endangered the safety of other passengers.

The employee contested her dismissal, arguing that these events related to her private life and not her professional life. The Court of Cassation ruled in her favor, noting that the events that occurred outside of work hours and the workplace, meaning that the employee was no longer under the authority of her employer and was not subject to company rules.

The judges also clarified that an objective disruption to the company's operations resulting from an incident related to the employee's personal life does not, in itself, justify the imposition of a disciplinary sanction.

Sources :

 

 

Frédéric CHHUM avocat et ancien membre du conseil de l’ordre des avocats de Paris (mandat 2019-2021)

CHHUM AVOCATS (Paris, Nantes, Lille)

e-mail: chhum@chhum-avocats.com

www.chhum-avocats.fr

https://www.instagram.com/fredericchhum/?hl=fr

.Paris: 34 rue Petrelle 75009 Paris tel: 0142560300

.Nantes: 41, Quai de la Fosse 44000 Nantes tel: 0228442644

.Lille: : 45, Rue Saint Etienne 59000 Lille – Ligne directe +(33) 03.20.57.53.24