Cass. soc., 15 April 2026, No. 24-19.018
In this ruling, the Court of Cassation confirms the application of the concept of a group to a network of associations, in the context of the obligation to redeploy employees prior to dismissal on economic grounds. As a reminder, article L.1233-4 of the Labour Code defines a group by (i) the existence of control within the meaning of the Commercial Code and (ii) the transfer of all or part of the staff.
In this case, an association which had founded several other associations had dismissed an employee on economic grounds. The employee, who was hired a month later by one of these associations, then complained that her employer had failed to offer her the post as part of its redeployment obligation.
The Court of Appeal had ruled in favour of the employee and held that this network did indeed constitute a group. It had thus considered that the activities, organisation and place of business of the association and the other associations allowed for the interchangeability of all or part of the staff, regardless of the fact that the association appointed only one-third of the members of the board of directors of the affiliated association.
However, the Court of Cassation overruled the appeal judgment, pointing out that the court could not rule without verifying the second criterion set out in article L 1233-4 of the Labour Code, namely the existence of control characterising a group. The judges were therefore required to first establish the existence of control links within the meaning of the Commercial Code.
In doing so, the Court of Cassation paves the way for the recognition of a group within an association network, provided that the two criteria of article L.1233-4 are met, thereby applying the definition of the Commercial Code to an association network.
In practice, this ruling requires associations to remain vigilant when determining the scope of their obligation to redeploy employees in the event of redundancy.