Source date: 2026-04-02
Can a company car be considered a benefit in kind? Published on April 3, 2026 - Entreprendre Service Public / Direction de l'information légale et administrative (Prime Minister)
A benefit in kind is a good, product, or service provided by an employer to an employee free of charge or at a price below its actual value, which would normally constitute a personal expense for the employee. So, can a company car fit this definition? In a ruling dated January 14, 2026, the Cour de cassation addressed this question.
An employee had a company car for professional travel. When the employer took away the vehicle, the employee stopped going to work and was dismissed for gross misconduct due to job abandonment. The employee took legal action, arguing that the provision of the vehicle constituted a benefit in kind that could not be arbitrarily withdrawn.
The Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the employee. It found that the removal of the company car was not motivated by abusive use. Furthermore, it noted that the vehicle allowed the employee to commute to work given their two-thirds disability rating.
The employer appealed to the Cour de cassation.
The Cour de cassation dismissed the appeal. It held that the employer:
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had never claimed that the employee used the vehicle abusively (i.e., for personal purposes);
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had agreed to let the employee keep the vehicle at home;
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had unproblematically replaced a previous company car after it was stolen on a Sunday in front of the employee's home.
Thus, the employee did not have a company car reserved exclusively for professional use, but rather a functional vehicle that they used "permanently" for both professional and personal trips. This vehicle therefore constituted a benefit in kind.
Consequently, the employee's dismissal lacked real and serious cause.
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Source: Service-Public professionnels
