Cass. Soc., 14 janvier 2026, no. 24-19.652
The employee’s sick leave had ended, and he neither returned to work, nor extended his sick leave. The employer formally requested that he return to work or justify his absence. He answered asking for the mandatory medical examination. Ultimately, the employee was dismissed two months after the end of his sick leave after the medical examination.
The lower courts considered that the employee’s request to a medical examination did not characterize his will to go back to work, and as such to be as his employer’s disposal. He let his employer without news from January 30th to March 24th, which was ground for his dismissal according to the Court of Appeals.
The French Supreme Court ruled in favor of the employee: that as long as the return-to-work medical examination has not been arranged, the employment contract remains suspended, and the employee cannot be dismissed for job abandonment or unjustified absences.
For reference, the Supreme Court had recently clarified that this suspension of the employment contract between the end of the sick leave and the mandatory medical examination does not prevent the occupational physician from declaring the employee unfit for work (Cass. Soc., December 10th 2025, no. 24-15.511).