Working from Pakistan: Dismissal permissible, summary dismissal not

Versailles – 08/08/2026: A laptop, a VPN connection and a workplace unknown to the employer: the Versailles Court of Appeal has ruled on the dismissal of an employee who had worked from Pakistan without prior authorization during the Covid-19 pandemic. Franceinfo covered the ruling of January 22, 2026, on Saturday in its employment-law programme “C’est mon boulot”. In the judges’ view, the conduct justified an ordinary dismissal, but not summary dismissal for serious misconduct.

The OPCO Mobilités employee had travelled to Pakistan to support his father, whose health was deteriorating. He had not informed his supervisor or the human resources department in advance about the change of location. The employer only noticed the foreign connections through a security alert dated November 10, 2020. It concerned access from a country outside the European Union to protected areas of the IT infrastructure.

The employee denied having neglected his professional duties. According to the court records, he continued answering work-related messages, remained reachable and made his work available. Nevertheless, the court held against him that he had concealed a material change in his working conditions. In addition, he had not complied with company rules on protecting confidential information and personal data.

The contract concluded with OPCO Mobilités required remote work to be carried out from a location where confidentiality and data security were guaranteed. The unilateral move to Pakistan breached this requirement. However, neither an intrusion into the IT system nor a specific attempted attack could be established. The recorded foreign connections were not sufficient evidence for the court.

The judges therefore found genuine and serious grounds for dismissal, but rejected the existence of misconduct so serious that continued employment until the end of the notice period would have been unreasonable. They took into account that the breaches had remained isolated and that the employee had continued to perform his duties. The Court of Appeal thus upheld the decision of the labour court.

The former employee retained his entitlement to pay during the precautionary suspension, to observance of the notice period and to the associated holiday entitlement. OPCO Mobilités must also bear the costs of the appeal proceedings and pay the claimant EUR 1,500 for non-recoverable legal costs. The ruling therefore draws a clear line: working remotely from abroad without consent may justify dismissal, but does not automatically suffice for summary dismissal.