FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Eva Kopelman, Ségolène Cox and Alexis Alié-Sandevoir, Axipiter
If confidentiality is violated, the employer may take appropriate action, which could include: • disciplinary measures against employees who fail to maintain confidentiality; and • seeking remedies under civil law if the disclosure causes harm to the company or other individuals involved in the investigation. 2.4 Preliminary Investigation and Scope- Setting A preliminary assessment may be conducted to deter - mine whether a full investigation is warranted. Conversely, when the employer already has sufficiently precise and reliable knowledge of the facts, and a full investigation would not yield additional information, it may be more appropriate to immediately implement protective measures and consider whether to initiate disciplinary proceedings. The French Supreme Court has confirmed that an employer can satisfy its health and safety obligations without conducting a full investigation, provided that appropriate and sufficient measures have been imple - mented (Cass. Soc., 12 June 2024, No 23-13.975). In summary, a preliminary assessment is useful for evaluating whether a full investigation is warranted. A comprehensive investigation should be reserved for situations where an in-depth inquiry is necessary to establish the facts and seriousness of the allegations, particularly in cases of harassment or discrimination. 3. Interviews and Fact-Finding 3.1 Interviewees In an internal HR investigation, the key individuals typically interviewed include: • the alleged victimand the respondent, even if either is on sick leave; • witnesses, as well as any individual requesting to be interviewed or whose testimony is requested by the alleged victim or the respondent; • direct supervisors or line managers; and
• potentially other relevant parties, such as the occu - pational health doctor or labour inspector, if their expertise is required. Although the French Supreme Court does not man - date that the respondent be interviewed, both the Defender of Rights and the Ministry of Labour con - sider it essential to do so in order to uphold the prin - ciple of adversarial proceedings. Direct confrontation between the alleged victim and the respondent is strongly discouraged due to poten - tial psychosocial risks. There is no fixed number of witnesses to be interviewed. The goal is not to interview all employees, but rather to speak with a sufficient number of individuals to obtain clear and objective information, allowing investigators to fully understand and analyse the situation. Courts assess the value of an investigation without requiring that all employees be interviewed (Cass. Soc., 8 January 2020, No 18-20.151). 3.2 Participation If the respondent refuses to participate in an investiga - tion, they cannot be compelled to do so. It is, however, recommended to document in detail all summons and the refusal, as this refusal can be taken into account when analysing the facts. The alleged victim may also decline to participate for various reasons, such as fear, trauma, or lack of trust. In such cases, the employer should note the refusal, continue the investigation by other means, and, where possible, offer alternatives (eg, accompanied inter - views, written statements). In general, it is advisable to systematically document all attempts to interview individuals, refusals, partial participation, and the reasons given, to demonstrate the employer’s diligence in conducting the investiga - tion. 3.3 Format Interviews may be conducted remotely using secure platforms such as Teams or Zoom. The key require -
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