Transparency in the face of injustice. To prove unequal pay, an employee may legitimately request the disclosure of pay slips from male employees occupying positions at a level comparable to hers. This is what the Court of Cassation has just recalled in a judgment rendered by the Social Chamber on March 8, 2023.

An employee dismissed by her employer considers that she has suffered a wage inequality compared to several male colleagues who have held her duties. The Court of Appeal, in the context of the right to evidence, ordered the employer to communicate to the applicant the pay slips of male employees employed in posts of a level comparable to hers. The employer appealed to the Court of Cassation because this communication would infringe the privacy of the employees concerned.

A communication essential to the exercise of the right of evidence

The Court of Cassation dismissed the appeal. In its view, the communication of those pay slips was essential to the exercise of the right to evidence and proportionate to the aim pursued, namely 'the defence of the employee's legitimate interest in equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation'.

The Court adds that the scope of the production of documents requested must be limited. Thus, the bulletins communicated must obscure personal data with the exception of surnames and first names, conventional classification, detailed monthly remuneration and total gross remuneration accumulated per calendar year.

  • Society
  • Gender equality