What protection does an assaulted public official have at work?

Verified 02 July 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

If you are victim of an assault in the course of your work or if you are prosecuted because of your professional activity, your employer administration must protect you and assist you. This protection that your employer administration needs to provide is called the functional protection. We present the conditions for its implementation.

You can benefit from the protection of your employer's administration whether you are official or contractor.

If you are former public official (civil servant or contract employee), you can benefit from the protection of the administration which employed you at the time of the facts in question.

Functional protection may also be granted by your employer administration to your husband, your partner of Civil partnerships: titleContent or your common-law partner, to your children and to your ascendants direct in case ofwillful interference with the integrity of their person because of your duties.

In case ofwillful harm to your life, functional protection may be granted by your employer administration to your Civil partnership, partner or cohabiting partner who takes legal action.

In the event of a deliberate attack on your life and in the absence of any action taken by your Civil partnership, partner or cohabiting partner, functional protection may be granted by your employer administration to your children or your relatives in the ascending line.

You can benefit from the functional protection of your employer’s administration if you are the victim of an assault in the course of your duties or if you are prosecuted because of your professional activity.

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You're a victim of an assault

You can benefit from the functional protection of your employer administration if you are victim of an assault in your capacity.

This provides functional protection in the following situations:

This list is not exhaustive.

The assault may take place during or outside your working time as soon as the causal link between the damage caused and your duties is established.

Functional protection is available if you are exposed to a proven risk willfully violating your physical integrity or your life because of your status as a public official.

Functional protection may also be granted in the event ofdamage to your property (e.g. damage to your vehicle).

For functional protection, you must not have made any personal mistakes.

You are being sued because of your professional activity

You can benefit from the functional protection of your employer administration if you are sued for a malfunction.

This provides functional protection in the following situations:

  • You are prosecuted, before criminal or civil courts, for acts which occurred in the course of your duties
  • You are heard as assisted witness for acts which may constitute a criminal offense and which occurred in the course of your duties
  • You are placed in police custody, or you are offered a measurement of penal composition, for acts which may constitute a criminal offense and which occurred in the course of your duties

For functional protection, you must not have made any personal mistakes.

Prevention and protection in the event of aggression

Your employer administration must prevent or take adequate measures to stop attacks which you, or your relatives, are or may be the victim of.

In addition, if your employer authority is informed of the existence of a clear risk of serious injury to your physical integrity, it shall, without delay, on a precautionary basis, appropriate emergency measures to stop this risk.

For example, in the case of online hate messages and content that threatens an agent by name on social media or in the case of threats or any other act of intimidation against a public agent.

Such measures shall be implemented for the period strictly necessary for the cessation of the risk.

Legal assistance

In the event of an assault, your employer administration must to make good the damage (economic, personal, material, physical, moral) that may result for you or your loved ones.

If you are subject to criminal prosecution for lack of service, your employer's administration must give you its protection.

In case of misconduct, your civil liability cannot be engaged.

If, however, you are sued by a third party for lack of service and if the court seised has not been declared incompetent, your employer administration must cover civil convictions pronounced against you.

Reminder

To be eligible for functional protection, you must not have committed any personal fault.

If you are taking legal action following an assault or if you are being prosecuted for a fault in service, your employer administration covers all or part of your procedural costs.

You are free to choose your lawyer and organize your defense strategy.

Your employer administration can assist you in choosing a lawyer.

Your employer administration may enter into an agreement with the lawyer you have appointed or accepted and, possibly, with you.

The agreement determines the amount of the fees paid by your administration.

It shall lay down the conditions under which the other procedural costs are to be met.

Your employer's administration pays the costs provided for in the agreement directly to the lawyer.

In the absence of an agreement, you will be paid for the costs directly upon presentation of the invoices.

Where your employer administration has made good the damage suffered by you or your relatives, it may, in your place, take legal action against the perpetrators of your assault to recover from them the repayment of the sums paid to you.

To receive functional protection, you must apply in writing with your employer authority on the date of the facts in question.

Please note

At National Education, the application for functional protection is made via the application Hummingbird.

You need to bring the proof of facts for which you are requesting functional protection.

There is no statutory time limit for requesting functional protection.

In case of refusal, your administration must inform you in writing. Your administration must give you the reasons for its refusal and indicate the means and time limits of appeal.

Failure to reply within 2 months of receipt of your request shall be deemed to constitute an implied refusal decision.

The decision to grant functional protection constitutes a rights-creating decision. Thus, functional protection cannot be retroactively withdrawn more than 4 months after its signature, even if it turns out that you have committed a personal error.

However, removal is possible if protection functional has been obtained by fraud.

Please note

On the other hand, functional protection may be revoked if it turns out that you have committed a personal error or if the facts relied on in support of the application for protection are not established.