Note: this guide is intended to follow our previous articles about creating a job pool/defining selection criteria, and the preliminary interview/CSP relating to economic dismissals (which is how redundancies are termed) in French companies.
Following the employee’s entretien préalable (preliminary interview), the employer must send them a formal letter of dismissal, or lettre de licenciement. This letter must be sent after a minimum period of seven working days following the interview, or 15 working days for an executive employee (cadre).
The lettre de licenciement must be sent by registered mail that is signed for by the recipient (lettre recommandée avec avis de reception, or LRAR). It must contain the following information:
- The economic reason for the employee’s dismissal,
- the possibility of the employee benefiting from a contrat de sécurisation professionnelle (CSP) if the right conditions are met,
- the possibility of the employee benefiting from redeployment leave (congé de reclassement) if the right conditions are met,
- that the employee may benefit from priority of re-employment for a period of one year following their contract termination date, and
- notice of the délai de prescription, or legal prescription period, during which the employee may challenge the dismissal and bring a case to the French Labour Court (conseil de prud’hommes).
The information contained in this letter must be carefully considered, clear and precise, since a challenge will result in a thorough review of its content. The redundancy may then be treated as lacking real and serious cause, which carries considerable financial penalties for the employer.
The employer must also notify the DREETS of their redundancies. This must be done in writing, within eight days of notification of the dismissal to employees as set out above.
The DREETS (Directions régionales de l’économie, de l’emploi, du travail, et des solidarités) are regional directorates for the economy, employment, labour, and solidarity, which are required to give their consent if there are more than 10 dismissals in the company. The employer is entitled to appeal against the DREETS’ decision within two months of its notification.
Notice period and termination of contract
The end of contract period begins once the lettre de licenciement has been received by the employee. Most employees are entitled to a notice period, which varies based on their seniority in the company and relevant terms as set out in the company’s convention collective.
The employee is obligated to work during their notice period, unless they are exempted by the employer or have accepted either a CSP or redeployment leave.
On conclusion of the notice period, the contract of employment is terminated. On this date, the employee must receive the following (where applicable):
- Dismissal payment
- Payment of notice period
- Payment for unused accrued paid leave
- Compulsory end-of-contract documents
Can we help plan and manage redundancies in your French company? We offer a free initial consultation and tailored support throughout the process. Please contact us to learn more.