Termination of permanent employment contract (CDI)
Verified 09 July 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
The contract of indefinite duration (CDI) may be terminated at any time, at the initiative of the employer or the employee or by mutual agreement by a contractual termination. Documents must be given to the employee at the end of the employment contract: certificate of employment, attestation France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi), balance of any account and summary of the wage savings schemes. We present you with the information you need to know.
An employer may terminate an employment contract with an employee in any of the following situations:
During the trial period
The employer who wishes to break the trial period must notify the employee, before leaving the company, within a period of consideration.
This preventive period is applicable if the employee's employment contract includes a probationary period of at least 1 week.
The minimum warning period varies according to the length of time the employee has been in the company:
Employee's time in the company | Deadline for advance notice |
|---|---|
Less than 8 days | 24 hours |
Between 8 days and 1 month of presence | 48 hours |
Between 1 month and 3 months of presence | 2 weeks |
After 3 months | 1 month |
Due to the length of the precautionary period, the trial period cannot be extended.
If the statutory time limit for notice is not respected, the employer must pay the employee a compensatory allowance.
Its amount (compensatory allowance for paid leave included) is equal to the amount of wages and benefits that the employee would have received had he worked until the end of the due diligence period.
FYI
The termination of the probationary period by the employer may be considered abusive by the labor council (CPH) if the reason for the break-up is not related to the employee's skills.
The employer shall provide the employee with the following documents:
- Work Certificate
- Attestation France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi)
- Receipt for balance of any account.
Please note
When anwage savings is set up in the company, the employer provides the employee, at the end of the employment contract, with a summary statement of the sums saved.
Economic redundancy
One dismissal on economic grounds is the dismissal made by an employer for one or more reasons unrelated to the employee.
The reason for the dismissal results from the termination or conversion of employment or from the amendment, refused by the employee, of an essential element of the employment contract.
The list of causes which may justify an economic dismissal is not limiting. It may be in particular economic difficulties, technological changes, a reorganization of the company necessary to safeguard its competitiveness, the cessation of activity of the company.
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Economic difficulties
Economic difficulties arise when the company undergoes a significant change in at least one of the following economic indicators:
- Decrease in orders or sales
- Operating losses or deterioration of cash flow or gross operating surplus
- Any other factor which may justify economic difficulties.
A drop in orders or turnover is significant when, compared with the same period of the previous year, it reaches a certain duration. This time varies depending on the size of the company.
Technological change
The introduction of a new technology may justify an economic dismissal.
One example is the adoption of a manufacturing process by digital printing replacing a screen printing process.
Reorganization of the company necessary to safeguard its competitiveness
The reorganization of the company may justify an economic dismissal if it is necessary to safeguard its competitiveness.
Discontinuance of the company
The cessation of activity of the company may justify an economic dismissal.
Please note
the cessation of the company's activity due to the employer's fault cannot justify an economic dismissal. For example, the cessation of a company's activity as a result of the company's misappropriation of funds to pay down a personal debt.
The employer shall provide the employee with the following documents:
- Work Certificate
- Attestation France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi)
- Receipt for balance of any account.
Please note
When anwage savings is set up in the company, the employer provides the employee, at the end of the employment contract, with a summary statement of the sums saved.
Dismissal for personal reasons
Where the employer dismisses an employee, the ground for dismissal must be justified by a real and serious cause.
The real and serious cause of the ground for dismissal shall be established if it complies with all the following criteria :
- It is based on actual facts (e.g. absence of the employee from his company without valid justification)
- She's accurate, concrete and verifiable (e.g. absence of the employee from his company without justification from 12 to 25 April)
- She's sufficiently large to justify the termination of the contract of employment (e.g. disturbance of the functioning of the company).
Please note
In the absence of a real and serious cause, the ground for dismissal may be described as unfair dismissal by the judge.
Dismissal on grounds staff is a dismissal whose pattern is based on the employee's person.
The personal motive shall be recognized, in particular, in the following cases:
- Fault of the employee
- Occupational failure
- Sickness (when the absence of the employee disrupts the functioning of the company)
- Incompetence declared by the occupational doctor
- Harassing employee in the company.
Some motives of redundancies are prohibited by law. If the employer dismisses the employee, the judge may order the nullity of dismissal.
Cases of nullity provided for by law are, in particular, dismissals made in any of the following :
- Due to a discrimination
- In violation of a fundamental freedom (freedom of expression, freedom of association, religious freedom, right of withdrawal of the employee)
- In connection with the performance of the duties of juror or citizen assessor
- If the employee refuses a geographical transfer to a country where homosexuality is criminalized on the grounds of sexual orientation
- For having recounted or testified, in good faith, facts constituting a offense or a crime of which the employee would have been aware in the course of his duties
- Against an employee whistleblower
- Because of a legal action in relation to discrimination
- Because of a legal action on gender equality
- Against victims or witnesses of harassment moral or sexual (except in bad faith of the employee)
- Without respecting maternity or paternity protection
- Accident at work Without respecting the protection related to the
- Without respecting the protection granted to certain employees (member of the ESC: titleContent for example)
- Infringement of the right to strike
- Against an employee who has testified (or reported) to ill-treatment or deprivation of a person accommodated in social and medico-social institutions or services
- Without respecting the protection related to the death of the child under 25
- Without respecting the protection related to the death of an actual and permanent dependent under the age of 25.
The employer shall provide the employee with the following documents:
- Work Certificate
- Attestation France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi)
- Receipt for balance of any account.
Please note
When anwage savings is set up in the company, the employer provides the employee, at the end of the employment contract, with a summary statement of the sums saved.
Ex officio retirement
The employer may to retire automatically the employee ofat least 70 years.
If the employee has between 67 and 69 years, the employer may propose the employee to retire, but the employee is not obligatory to accept.
The employer shall provide the employee with the following documents:
- Work Certificate
- Attestation France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi)
- Receipt for balance of any account.
Please note
When anwage savings is set up in the company, the employer provides the employee, at the end of the employment contract, with a summary statement of the sums saved.
In case of force majeure
Force majeure is an event that fills all 3 features following:
- Cannot be predicted (unpredictable)
- Can't be overcome (irresistible)
- External fact beyond the control of the data subject.
If the breakdown is due to a loss, the employee shall receive compensation. Its amount shall be equal to that of severance pay and the compensation for notice to which the employee could have been entitled.
He also perceives compensatory leave with pay.
The employer shall provide the employee with the following documents:
- Work Certificate
- Attestation France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi)
- Receipt for balance of any account.
Please note
When anwage savings is set up in the company, the employer provides the employee, at the end of the employment contract, with a summary statement of the sums saved.
Death of the employer
The death of the employer is not a case of force majeure which results in the automatic termination of the employee's employment contract.
If the death of the employer leads to the total cessation of the activity of the company, the heirs must respect the procedure of economic redundancy.
The employee may terminate the employment contract with the employer in any of the following situations:
During the trial period
Procedure
During the probationary period, the employee may break up freely his employment contract.
No special procedures shall not be imposed on an employee who wishes to terminate the employment contract during the probationary period.
There is no formalism.
To avoid any dispute, the employee may notify the employer of his decision by letter with RAR: titleContent or by e-mail with a request for acknowledgement of receipt.
Deadline for advance notice
An employee who wishes to terminate his employment contract during the probationary period must notify the employer, before leaving the company, within a period of consideration.
The minimum warning period varies according to the length of the employee's presence in the company:
Employee's time in the company | Deadline for advance notice |
|---|---|
Less than 8 days | 24 hours |
At least 8 days | 48 hours |
The termination of the employment contract during the probationary period by the employee does not entitle him to unemployment benefit, but there are exceptions.
The employer shall provide the employee with the following documents:
- Work Certificate
- Attestation France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi)
- Receipt for balance of any account.
Please note
When anwage savings is set up in the company, the employer provides the employee, at the end of the employment contract, with a summary statement of the sums saved.
Resignation
The resignation is a breakup of the employment contract which enables the employee to leave his job. The employee must protest clearly and in no equivocal his willingness to break his employment contract.
The employee has not the obligation specify the pattern for which he is resigning.
In case of ambiguity on the clear and unequivocal will, on prud'homme council may reclassify the resignation as wrongful dismissal (or without real and serious cause).
FYI
In certain conditions, the employer may consider abandonment of post like a resignation.
The employer shall provide the employee with the following documents:
- Work Certificate
- Attestation France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi)
- Receipt for balance of any account.
Please note
When anwage savings is set up in the company, the employer provides the employee, at the end of the employment contract, with a summary statement of the sums saved.
Voluntary retirement
If the employee leaves voluntarily to the retreat, he must to inform his employer from the date of his departure.
There is no specific procedure in the act.
However, the employee must comply with the provisions of the collective agreement or his employment contract (if any).
In addition, the employee must notify his employer early enough to be able to comply with a notice, the duration of which is the same as that provided for in the case of notice of dismissal.
It is recommended that the employer be notified by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt (LRAR).
A template is available:
Letter of notification to the employer of retirement of the employee
The employer shall provide the employee with the following documents:
- Work Certificate
- Attestation France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi)
- Receipt for balance of any account.
Please note
When anwage savings is set up in the company, the employer provides the employee, at the end of the employment contract, with a summary statement of the sums saved.
Judicial Termination
The judicial termination of the employment contract is a means of termination of the employment contract at the initiative of the employee.
Where the employee considers that the employer is not fulfilling his or her contractual obligations, he or she may ask the labor council (CPH) breach of his employment contract.
The CPH verifies the breaches reported by the employee.
The CPH can either validate the termination of the employment contract or not accept it.
During the entire legal proceedings, the employee works normally.
Please note
Unlike acknowledgement of the termination of the contract of employment, judicial termination does not terminate immediately the employment relationship.
Judicial termination may be requested in the event of serious deficiencies the employer, in particular in the following cases:
- Failure to perform the agreed work (e.g. the employer no longer gives the employee work and does not pay him)
- Removal of a professional vehicle making the employee unable to work
- Degrading remarks that violate the dignity of the employee
- Failure to comply with a safety obligation (for example, the employer does not take measures to remedy the psychological suffering of an employee).
The employer shall provide the employee with the following documents:
- Work Certificate
- Attestation France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi)
- Receipt for balance of any account.
Please note
When anwage savings is set up in the company, the employer provides the employee, at the end of the employment contract, with a summary statement of the sums saved.
Taking note
The acknowledgement is a way of breaking the employment contract of the employee in DTA: titleContent.
It is the employee's decision to terminate his employment contract when he considers that the employer's behavior makes it impossible to continue their contractual relationship.
The employment contract is broken immediately.
An acknowledgement may be made where the employee observes serious deficiencies on the part of his employer, in particular in the following cases:
- Psychological harassment or sexual
- Non-payment of salary
- Amendment of contract without the employee's consent
- No organization of medical examinations compulsory (unless the absence of a medical examination is due to simple negligence on the part of the employer).
The employer shall provide the employee with the following documents:
- Work Certificate
- Attestation France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi)
- Receipt for balance of any account.
Please note
When anwage savings is set up in the company, the employer provides the employee, at the end of the employment contract, with a summary statement of the sums saved.
Death of employee
The death of employee is a case of force majeure. The contract is automatically terminated as a result of death.
The employer has no specific procedure to follow.
The employer must pay to heirs or to those entitled amounts earned on the date of death.
These amounts may be:
- Salaries not yet paid
- Premiums due
- Possible compensatory allowance for paid leave
- Any rights saved in the time savings account (heirs or beneficiaries must ask early release to the employer)
- Compensation for acquired rights in respect of obligatory quid pro quo.
In addition, the employer must provide financial assistance if collective agreement, one company use or a unilateral commitment provides for it.
Heirs or beneficiaries can request the early release of the rights in respect of wage savings (participation in the company's profits, special reserve or company savings plan...).
FYI
The employer must pay severance pay whether the dismissal has been notified before the death of the employee. He must also pay the specific indemnity for breach of agreement, if the breach of contract was certified before the employee’s death.
The employee and the employer may jointly agree to terminate the employment contract by signing a conventional break.
The employer shall provide the employee with the following documents:
- Work Certificate
- Attestation France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi)
- Receipt for balance of any account.
Please note
When anwage savings is set up in the company, the employer provides the employee, at the end of the employment contract, with a summary statement of the sums saved.
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For more information on this topic, you can contact Allô Service Public.
Attention: the service does not have access to users' personal files and cannot therefore provide information on their status.
He does not respond questions relating to unemployment compensation and representations to France Labor (formerly Pôle emploi), the officials or contractual of the fpublic service, the amount or payment of contributions social, wage or management.
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