Confidentiality Clause: Obligations and Terms
30 September 2025 · 5 min reading time
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See job offersThe confidentiality clause has become an essential element of employment contracts. Present in many industries, it aims to protect the sensitive information that an employee may access in the course of their work. Whether in a standard employment contract or during a temporary assignment, this clause assures the employer that the company’s strategic data will remain confidential, even after the termination of the contract.
In this article, we will provide a clear definition of the confidentiality clause, explain its role in labour law, detail the employee’s obligations and the sanctions in case of non-compliance. We will also cover the duration of this clause, its conditions of validity, as well as concrete examples to better understand how it applies in everyday practice.
Definition of the confidentiality clause
The confidentiality clause is a provision increasingly found in employment contracts. Its objective is simple: to protect the company’s sensitive information and ensure it is not used or shared outside the professional context.
In practical terms, when an employee signs a contract that includes this clause, they undertake not to disclose certain elements they have access to in the course of their work. This may concern client files, production methods, commercial strategies, or a trade secret. Confidentiality is then formalised in writing and is no longer just a matter of common sense.
It is important to distinguish this clause from the general duty of discretion provided for by the Labour Code. All employees, even without a specific clause, must naturally exercise discretion and act in good faith in the performance of their contract.
But the confidentiality clause goes further: it precisely frames the nature of the information concerned and the period during which it must remain protected, including after the termination of the contract.
To be valid, such a clause must comply with certain rules. According to case law, it must remain proportionate to the employee’s role and the tasks entrusted to them. An overly broad or vague clause could be deemed abusive by the Court of Cassation.
Why include a confidentiality clause in an employment contract?
Including a confidentiality clause in an employment contract is not mere legal formalism. Above all, it is a way to protect the company’s interests and provide a clear framework for the employee.
In most jobs, employees have access to sensitive information: customer databases, internal tools, management methods, strategic plans… Without safeguards, voluntary or involuntary disclosure of these elements could seriously harm the company’s security and competitiveness.
For the employer, confidentiality helps preserve know-how, partnerships, or a trade secret. For the employee, it clearly defines the scope of their obligations, avoids misunderstandings, and allows them to work in good faith.
The clause also plays an important role when the contract ends. It often continues to produce effects even after the end of the employment relationship, to prevent strategic data from being exploited by a competitor or used in a new job.
In practice, adding such a clause strengthens trust between employer and employee and supports more transparent collaboration. It should not be perceived as an excessive constraint, but as a guarantee of mutual respect.
Duration and application of a confidentiality clause
A confidentiality clause is not limited to the period when the employee is in post. Its duration may be set beyond the performance of the employment contract, in order to protect the company’s sensitive information even after the termination of the contract.
In practice, confidentiality applies:
- during the entire hiring period, from the signing of the contract;
- during the assignment, in carrying out the tasks entrusted;
- and often after the end of the contract, for a period specified in the clause.
According to labour law and case law, it is essential that this duration remains reasonable. A clause that would require the employee to remain silent indefinitely could be considered disproportionate and therefore void. The idea is to effectively protect the company’s secrets without unduly restricting the employee’s professional freedom after termination.
Furthermore, the employer must ensure that the nature of the information covered by the clause is clearly defined. The law and the Court of Cassation regularly remind us that a clause cannot be overly vague or imprecise. The written form is therefore essential to avoid any dispute.
Finally, application of the clause must remain proportionate to the position held. An employee who handles strategic data will not be subject to the same restrictions as an employee performing routine operational tasks. This proportionality guarantees compliance with the validity conditions set by law.
Confidentiality clause and temporary agency workers
The confidentiality clause does not concern only employees on permanent or fixed-term contracts: it also has its place in a temporary employment contract. When an employee is recruited by a temp agency, they sign a contract with the temporary employment company, but it is the user company that assigns daily tasks. In this context, protecting information is all the more important because the temporary worker may work in differentand sometimes very sensitive environments.
Take the example of a temp in the IT sector: they may have access to confidential databases or internal code. In industry, they may discover technical processes protected as trade s
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