Note: please refer to our previous article, Managing Redundancies in France, for more information about creating a job pool and defining the selection criteria for redundancies in a French company (link to: https://www.viridianhr.co.uk/blog/managing-employee-redundancies-in-france/).
In this article, we will summarise the next step in the redundancy process. This is the entretien préalable, or preliminary interview, which occurs when redeployment is not possible or has been rejected by the employee.
The employer must first notify the employee by registered letter (or hand delivery with receipt), of the upcoming interview.
The following information must be included in this letter:
- the purpose of the interview,
- its date, time and location,
- the economic reasons for the employee’s dismissal,
- that the employee may choose to be assisted by a colleague or external advisor during the interview, and
- contact details of the town hall and labour inspectorate, from which the employee may obtain a list of advisors.
The preliminary interview must be scheduled at least five days after the letter is received by the employee.
Is the preliminary interview mandatory for all employees being made redundant?
If 10 or more employees are dismissed on economic grounds within 30 days, the employer is not obliged to hold individual interviews unless the company does not have a CSE (Comité Social et Économique) in place.
This condition does not apply to protected employees, who must always receive an individual preliminary interview.
What happens during the entretien préalable?
The employer must inform the employee of the economic reasons for their dismissal. If the company employs fewer than 1,000 staff, eligible employees should also be offered a contrat de sécurisation professionnelle (CSP) in the form of an official document. The employer is obliged to clearly explain this offer to the employee, including the different outcomes that will result from its acceptance or refusal.
What is the contrat de sécurisation professionnelle?
The CSP allows employees who are dismissed on economic grounds to receive certain benefits from France Travail, a government agency that assists unemployed people. These benefits include higher unemployment benefits and support in finding work, for a maximum of 12 months following redundancy.
The employee has 21 calendar days to decide whether or not to accept the CSP.
This reflection period begins on the day after the employee has received the CSP documentation, so the employer should record proof of receipt during the preliminary interview. If the employee does not respond to the offer, this will be taken as a refusal.
If the employee accepts the CSP, their contract of employment will be terminated by mutual agreement at the end of the reflection period of 21 days. If they refuse it, they will be formally notified of their dismissal for economic reasons. In this case the employee will not receive any CSP-related benefits, although they may be eligible for other forms of unemployment support.
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