The Casablanca Court of Appeal has overturned a lower court ruling that had ordered a company to pay financial compensation to a dismissed employee. The appeals court ruled that notifying the company of her illness via WhatsApp had no legal standing, as it did not comply with the company's official communication protocol, which requires email. The case dates back to a period when the employee experienced a health issue and underwent medical treatment. She sent a medical certificate to the human resources department via WhatsApp, which she claimed was the company's customary communication channel. However, upon returning to work, she was reportedly denied access to the workplace due to a dispute with management, according to media reports. After an unsuccessful attempt to resolve the matter through the labor inspector, the employee filed a lawsuit seeking compensation for unfair dismissal, damages, job loss, unpaid annual leave, and a work certificate, with a penalty clause for non-compliance. The first-instance court ruled in her favor, awarding her over 222,000 dirhams. The company appealed the decision, arguing that the employee had been absent for more than 25 days without proper justification and had failed to notify the company within the legally required 48-hour period. The employer also rejected the use of WhatsApp as an official means of communication, noting that it maintains a dedicated office for such matters and accepts notifications via professional email only under certain conditions. Although the lower court had based its decision on Article 271 of the Labor Code, which does not stipulate a specific method for submitting medical certificates, the Court of Appeal ruled at the end of June that internal company protocols must be respected. It concluded that the employee's failure to use the approved email system rendered the WhatsApp notification invalid, especially since the company denied receiving it and the employee could not prove that the messaging app was formally recognized as an official communication channel. As a result, the court determined that the employee had effectively ended her employment relationship voluntarily and rejected all claims related to dismissal, damages, and notification.
