The legal part of this article is for companies based in France, whose employees fall under French labour law. The French Labour Code does not deal specifically with team building. When the company organises it during working time, it is in practice treated as work, and the French Court of Cassation accepted that reading in a case about an accident during the leisure day of a seminar. What the employer cannot do is design the programme so that some people are excluded or put at a disadvantage because of their health, a pregnancy, a disability, their age or their beliefs, nor sanction an employee for exercising freedom of expression, for example by criticising a company culture built on excess. Good practice fits in one sentence: attendance is expected, the activity is a choice. Here is what the texts we have read say, what they do not say, and how to design a programme in Marrakech in which nobody is sidelined. The design advice applies to any company, wherever it is based. This article does not replace advice from your legal department.
Can an employer make team building mandatory?
The French Labour Code gives no ready-made rule for team building. Three elements nevertheless help you reason it through.
The first comes from case law on accidents. In a ruling of 21 June 2018 (no. 17-15.984), the Court of Cassation upheld a court of appeal that had treated as a work accident an employee’s skiing injury, which happened during the leisure day of a company seminar: that day was paid as working time and the employees remained under the authority of the company organising the seminar. The ruling is about whether an accident is work-related, not about whether attendance is compulsory; it only shows that leisure time built into a paid seminar can remain under the employer’s authority. Our article on safety, insurance and work accidents covers this in more detail.
The second is article L1121-1 of the French Labour Code: “No one may place restrictions on personal rights and on individual and collective freedoms that are not justified by the nature of the task to be performed nor proportionate to the aim pursued.” Requiring an employee to go skydiving to “bond the team” would probably be hard to justify; asking them to join a team day with several possible activities, much easier.
The third is article L1132-1, which prohibits any sanction or discriminatory measure, direct or indirect, on grounds including age, pregnancy, religious beliefs, state of health, loss of autonomy or disability. A programme where the only activity is physical, and where not taking part means standing apart, can raise that issue. It is the strongest argument for activities by choice.
What does the 2022 “fun and pro” ruling say, and what does it not say?
The ruling is often summarised too quickly. On 9 November 2022 (no. 21-15.208), the Social Chamber of the Court of Cassation examined the dismissal, for professional inadequacy, of a consultant who had become a director and who rejected his consulting firm’s “fun and pro” culture. According to the ruling, that “fun and pro” culture meant, among other things, participation, presented as necessary, in seminars and end-of-week drinks that frequently led to excessive drinking, as well as practices combining promiscuity, bullying and encouragement of various excesses. The dismissal was partly based on his critical behaviour and his refusal to accept that policy.
The Court restated that, barring abuse, employees enjoy freedom of expression inside and outside the company, and that a dismissal based even partly on the exercise of that fundamental freedom is void. It partially quashed the appeal ruling, only on the claims relating to the nullity of the dismissal, and sent the case back to the Paris Court of Appeal, differently composed.
What the ruling does not say: that every seminar or team building event is optional. It concerns a specific context marked by excess. What it tells an organiser: do not put alcohol at the centre of the programme, do not make enthusiastic attendance at every evening a test of belonging to the team, and do not hold it against anyone that they said they disliked the format.
How do you design a programme where everyone finds a place?
The method that works best is simple: several activities running in parallel, at the same time, each with its level of effort announced in advance, and a shared moment for everyone before and after. Each participant picks a workshop when registering, without having to explain why. In Marrakech, three activities lend themselves well to this set-up because they take place in town and end at the same time: the medina rally, the Moroccan cooking workshop and the craft workshop.
| Activity | Effort required | Points to flag in the invitation |
|---|---|---|
| Medina rally | Sustained walking | Lanes with no car access, uneven ground, heat from spring onwards |
| Moroccan cooking workshop | Low, partly standing | Menu adaptable to dietary requirements, to be given at registration |
| Craft workshop | Low, seated | Accessible to almost everyone |
| Quad biking in the Agafay desert | Physical, jolting | Conditions set by the operator (age, driver and passenger), to pass on as they are |
| Hot-air balloon | Low in flight, but a middle-of-the-night start | Outing lasting several hours, physical conditions to request from the operator |
Quad biking and balloon flights are hard to offer in parallel, because they take part of the group far from town for several hours. If you include them, offer them as an option, and plan for the others an activity of equal value, not just free time by the pool.
Who may be put at a disadvantage, and what should you plan?
People with reduced mobility
The medina is the sensitive point. Cars cannot drive in: everyone finishes on foot from the nearest gate or car park, sometimes over a real distance. In riads, rooms are often reached by narrow stairs. If a participant has difficulty getting around, choose a hotel or a step-free venue for accommodation, a workshop reachable by car, and a rally designed around them rather than without them: a team can perfectly well have a fixed coordination post. Our article on corporate retreats in a riad covers access questions in detail.
Pregnant women and participants on medication
Nobody should have to disclose a pregnancy or a treatment to avoid quad biking. That is exactly why alternatives must exist for everyone, not on justified request. Ask the quad and balloon operators for their written conditions, and include them in the invitation: everyone decides for themselves.
Participants fasting during Ramadan
In 2027, Ramadan is expected to start around 8 or 9 February, give or take a day depending on the moon sighting, and to run until around 8 or 9 March, with Eid al-Fitr expected around 9 or 10 March. If your team building falls in this period, some of your participants, and some of the providers’ staff, fast from sunrise to sunset. Schedule physical activities in the morning, avoid making lunch the highlight of the day, and time the shared dinner to the breaking of the fast, around 6:20 pm in mid-February (Morocco now stays on GMT all year, Ramadan included). Our 2027 calendar for corporate events in Marrakech gives all the dates.
People who do not drink alcohol
Some participants do not drink, for religious, medical or simply personal reasons, and do not have to say which. A successful evening does not need an open bar as its climax: provide well-made alcohol-free drinks, served with as much care as the wine. Dietary requirements are handled the same way, at registration, and passed on to the caterers.
Non-sporty and more reserved participants
Competitive activities reveal team dynamics, but they can also harden them. In a rally, give each team varied roles, from navigation to note-taking or photography, and do not rank individuals. A cooking or craft workshop puts everyone on an equal footing, whatever their job title.
How should you word the invitation?
The wording matters as much as the programme. One formula that works: “Thursday is part of the event. In the afternoon, three workshops run at the same time: a walking rally in the medina (sustained walking, duration given in the programme), a Moroccan cooking workshop and a craft workshop. Choose the one that suits you before the 15th; you do not need to explain your choice.” It states clearly that the day is work, gives useful information about the effort, and asks for no explanation. Also give a discreet contact for any question about accessibility or diet.
If the programme includes an evening, say that the end is open: nobody should have to explain why they head back at 10 pm.
How much does a programme with workshops by choice cost?
Less than you might think, because each participant only does one workshop. Using the model behind our calculator, for 50 people split between a rally (20 people), a cooking workshop (15) and a craft workshop (15), with shuttles for the whole group, allow about €2,400 to €3,900, or €47 to €78 per person. If everyone did all three activities, the budget would rise to about €6,100 to €9,800.
For comparison, a single activity for all 50 people, shuttles included, comes to about €2,200 to €3,500 for the rally, €3,000 to €4,800 for cooking and €1,900 to €3,500 for crafts. Running workshops in parallel therefore costs roughly the same as a single activity: what it mainly requires is more coordination, with one leader per workshop and aligned finishing times. These ranges include a 10% contingency and exclude flights, alcohol, tourist tax and organisation fees. For companies based in France, the social security treatment of a seminar abroad is covered in our article on benefits in kind.
Frequently asked questions
Can an employee refuse to take part in a team building event?
Under French law there is no single answer, and the Labour Code does not deal specifically with the question. A team building event during working time is in practice treated as work, but the employer may only impose justified and proportionate restrictions, and may not sanction an employee for exercising freedom of expression. Offering activities by choice avoids most conflicts. Check with your legal department.
Can you make a sporty activity like quad biking compulsory?
It is risky: a single physical activity can exclude employees because of their health, a pregnancy or a disability. Offer it as an option, with an alternative of equal value.
What did the French Court of Cassation say about “fun” company culture?
In a ruling of 9 November 2022, it held void, because it was partly based on the exercise of freedom of expression, the dismissal of an employee who criticised and rejected a culture of seminars and drinks marked by excessive drinking. It did not say that all team building is optional.
Should you avoid Marrakech during Ramadan?
Not necessarily, but the programme must adapt: activities in the morning, a shared dinner at the breaking of the fast. In 2027, Ramadan is expected from early February to early March, give or take a day.
We design programmes in which every participant finds a place, with parallel workshops and supervision on site: discover our team building in Marrakech, estimate your budget with our seminar and team building budget calculator, or ask for a free quote.