The courts do not recognize the validity of an electronically signed employment contract

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The Riom Court of Appeal issued a decision on October 4, 2022 (RG No. 21/02517) which is noteworthy since this court refuses to take into account an electronically signed employment contract.

The judgment is particularly well reasoned and the Court searches in a reasoned manner for evidence of the reliability of the process implemented. It finds none, the only document provided by the employer in support of the electronic signature being a screenshot of unidentifiable origin and containing only very summary information on the transaction.

For the Court, only the production of a file of evidence "describing the signature process used and the technical processes ensuring its reliability" could have made it possible to recognize the existence of the electronic signature.

Furthermore, in this case, no extrinsic evidence justifying the signing of the contract was provided.

THIS JUDGMENT CONSTITUTES A SERIOUS WARNING AGAINST THE USE OF PROCESSES WHICH HAVE AN ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE ONLY IN THE NAME AND DO NOT ALLOW THE CONSTITUTION OF ARGUMENTED PROOF OF THE TRANSACTION

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