Can Your Employer Read Your Teams, Slack or Discord Messages?
06 November 2026 · 4 min reading time
Join Staffmatch
See job offersSummarize this article with
Do you regularly exchange messages with your colleagues on Teams, Slack or Discord? Even when a conversation takes place one-on-one or in a private channel, its content is not necessarily inaccessible to your employer.
In France, employers may access messages exchanged through workplace messaging platforms, under certain conditions. However, their use of these messages is subject to privacy rights and the confidentiality of correspondence. Here are the rules that apply, the limits of workplace monitoring and the potential consequences for employees.
What can your employer legally read on workplace messaging platforms?
When employees use digital tools provided by their company, their communications are generally presumed to be work-related unless they have clearly identified them as personal.
This rule applies to workplace instant messaging platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Slack and Discord when used for professional purposes.
A conversation about organising a schedule, following up with a client or preparing for a meeting is generally considered work-related. Employers may therefore be entitled to access it, even when the employee is absent.
However, personal correspondence benefits from specific legal protections, even when exchanged using a company computer.
The French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) explains that messages clearly identified as personal are protected by the confidentiality of correspondence. Employers cannot freely access them, except in certain legally defined circumstances, particularly with judicial authorisation.
Direct messages and private channels: what can your employer actually see?
A direct message sent to a colleague on Teams or Slack is not automatically confidential from your employer. Access depends on the platform, the company's subscription plan and the permissions granted.
On Microsoft Teams, organisations can use Microsoft Purview eDiscovery to search for and collect certain communications. When properly authorised, this tool can provide access to one-on-one conversations, group chats and messages posted in channels.
Its use is restricted to authorised personnel. A manager does not automatically have access to all conversations between team members.
On Slack, Business+ and Enterprise plans allow direct messages and private channel conversations to be exported under certain conditions. Workspace owners must have the necessary permissions, and these operations remain subject to applicable data protection laws.
Discord works differently. A server administrator cannot read direct messages between two users simply because they manage the server. However, this does not prevent an employer from obtaining certain messages through other means or using them in a professional context when legally permitted.
For example, a participant may share a screenshot of a conversation with their manager. In such cases, it is important to consider how the messages were obtained and whether the employer is legally entitled to use them.
Technical capabilities alone do not determine whether a conversation is personal or professional.
For more information, the official documentation for Microsoft Teams and Slack explains how messages can be searched and exported.
Three situations where the content of your messages makes a difference
The legal protection of a conversation depends on its content, the circumstances in which it takes place and its possible connection to the employee's professional responsibilities.
You discuss work-related matters with a colleague.
You exchange messages about an overdue project, instructions from your manager or difficulties encountered while working on a task. These conversations are directly related to your job. When exchanged through a workplace messaging platform and not identified as personal, they are generally presumed to be professional communications.
You share a personal problem with a colleague.
You discuss a separation, a family issue or a health concern unrelated to your job. These conversations may fall within your private life, even if they take place during working hours.
Clearly identifying a conversation as personal helps protect its confidentiality. However, the absence of such a label does not automatically entitle an employer to use information about an employee's private life as grounds for disciplinary action.
You criticise a decision made by your manager.
Disagreeing with a new organisational policy or questioning certain instructions does not necessarily constitute misconduct.
Employees have a right to freedom of expression at work, but this right has limits. Insulting remarks, personal attacks or excessive accusations may lead to disciplinary consequences, depending on the circumstances.
Courts consider the nature of the comments, their recipients, the context in which they were made and their connection to professional obligations. A reasoned criticism of a decision will not necessarily be treated in the same way as insulting messages targeting several colleagues.
Can your employer monitor your conversations without telling you?
Companies may monitor the use of their digital tools to ensure system security, protect sensitive information or verify that their operations are running properly.
However, this authority does not give employers the right to monitor employees' conversations freely and continuously.
Accessing an individual work-related message and systematically monitoring employee communications are subject to different requirements. Any monitoring system must be justified, proportionate to its purpose and brought to employees' attention.
Article L. 1222-4 of the French Labour Code states that no information concerning an employee personally may be collected through a system of which they have not previously been informed.
In companies with at least 50 employees, the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) must also be informed and consulted before a decision is made to introduce systems designed to monitor employee activity, in accordance with Article L. 2312-38 of the French Labour Code.
Employers must also comply with personal data protection rules, particularly regarding the purposes of monitoring, data retention periods and the individuals authorised to access the information collected.
The CNIL states that monitoring systems must not disproportionately interfere with employees' rights and freedoms. The fact that a technical feature allows data to be collected does not, by itself, justify its use.
Employers are therefore not necessarily required to request permission before accessing each work-related message. However, the monitoring systems they use must comply with legal requirements.
To understand your company's practices, you can consult its IT policy, if one exists, as well as the information provided about employee data processing. These documents may explain which monitoring measures are in place and how they are used.
Can messages exchanged between colleagues justify dismissal?
Certain messages exchanged through workplace messaging platforms may justify disciplinary action, including dismissal, when the circumstances establish sufficiently serious misconduct.
Two rulings by the French Court of Cassation illustrate how the use of such messages depends heavily on the circumstances.
September 25, 2024: A dismissal overturned because of private conversations
In this case, an employee had been dismissed for serious misconduct, partly because of messages exchanged with three people through a messaging application installed on his work computer.
The conversations took place in a strictly private context, were unrelated to the company's activities and were not intended to be made public.
The French Court of Cassation upheld the ruling that the dismissal was null and void. Although the employer had been able to access the messages, their content concerned the employee's private life and did not constitute a breach of his professional obligations.
This ruling highlights an important distinction: the fact that an employer can access a message does not necessarily mean it can be used to discipline the employee who wrote it.
September 23, 2026: Discord messages accepted in disciplinary proceedings
Another case involved a legal professional who had been dismissed for serious misconduct following several conversations with a colleague on Discord.
The software was used within the company to facilitate professional communications. The messages had been sent during working hours, including during meetings and training sessions.
The discussions concerned management instructions, the firm's operations and several colleagues. Some of the comments were insulting or derogatory towards senior managers.
The employee challenged the use of these messages, particularly because the conversations had taken place through personal accounts in a direct message exchange outside the company's Discord server. The employer had obtained access to the messages through the other participant's account.
However, the French Court of Cassation found that the conversations had not been identified as personal and directly concerned professional activities. In the circumstances of the case, accessing them did not constitute an invasion of privacy. The employee's appeal was dismissed.
This decision does not mean that employers can freely access all private conversations on Discord. It demonstrates that a conversation may be considered work-related even when it takes place through direct messages between two individuals.
Dismissal for serious misconduct generally requires conduct serious enough to make it impossible for the employee to remain with the company, even during the notice period. This classification cannot automatically be applied to ordinary criticism.
What should you do if your employer has accessed your private messages?
If you discover that conversations have been accessed or shared with your manager, the first step is to understand how the company obtained them.
You can ask your employer to explain where the messages came from, why they were accessed and which rules were applied. It is also useful to keep any available evidence, particularly correspondence with management and documents relating to possible disciplinary action.
If a monitoring or data collection system is involved, several organisations or representatives may be able to help:
- The Data Protection Officer (DPO), where one has been appointed, can provide information about how your personal data is processed.
- Employee representatives or the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) can explain the monitoring systems used within the company.
- The CNIL, France's data protection authority, can be contacted if you believe your personal data has been collected or used in breach of applicable regulations.
However, the CNIL cannot replace the courts in determining whether access to correspondence was lawful in an individual dispute or whether a dismissal was justified.
If disciplinary action has already been taken, employees may challenge it before the French employment tribunal (Conseil de prud'hommes). An employment lawyer can help assess the circumstances and identify possible legal remedies.
If the employer is considering dismissal, they must follow the applicable legal procedure, including arranging a pre-dismissal meeting. The employee must then have the opportunity to understand the allegations and provide an explanation before a decision is made.
To reduce the risk of confusion, it is advisable to clearly identify personal conversations on company messaging platforms and use a personal account and device for sensitive discussions. However, these precautions do not remove the need to examine the specific circumstances in the event of a dispute.
Our article on personal phone use at work also explains the rules governing mobile phone use during working hours and the limits of an employer's authority.
Similar articles
Labor Law
Right to Disconnect: Definition, Obligations and Implementation in the Workplace
02 December 2025 · 5 min reading time
Discover what the right to disconnect is, its legal obligations, and how companies must protect rest periods and work-life balance.
Advice
AI in the workplace: uses, employee rights and rules to follow
21 August 2026 · 5 min reading time
Discover how AI is used in the workplace, employees’ rights, the risks involved and the rules introduced by the EU AI Act.
Latest News
Personal Phone at Work: What Does French Labour Law Say?
21 October 2026 · 4 min reading time
Can you use your phone at work? Discover French labour law rules, when employers can ban phone use and the penalties for misuse.
Become a temp worker with Staffmatch!
OUR MOBILE APPS
Download the temp worker app
Download the business appDownload our temp worker appDownload our business app
Download the temp worker appDownload the business appDownload our temp worker appDownload our business app