References
Labour Code [LC], Act No 97-17 of 1st December 1997 (Code du travail - available in French)
Date:
1 Jan 1970;
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Act No. 2003-23 amending the Labour Code
(Loi n° 2003-23 du 20 août 2003, modifiant les articles L24 et L25 du Code du Travail et ajoutant un article L 85 bis même code - available in French)
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Scope
Size of enterprises excluded (≤): none
No enterprises are excluded based on size.
See - Section L3 LC.
Workers' categories excluded: civil/public servants, seafarers
Section L2 LC : Applies to all employers and employees in the private sector.
▻ Exclusions: Civil servants, "under permanent employment with the public administration", are not covered by the Labour Code (LC). Instead, their employment is governed by a separate and distinct legislation (Loi n° 61-33 du 15 juin 1961 relative au statut général des fonctionnaires).
▻ Termination of employment in the maritime services is regulated by specific rules: the Merchant Marine Code, 1962.
Collective agreements :
FTC regulated: Yes
Chapter 3 of the LC (Sections L. 41- L. 48) provides for the regulation of the FTC (Contrat de Travail à Durée Déterminée - CDD).
Valid reasons for FTC use: objective and material reasons
No statutory limitation on valid reasons (§ L. 41 LC).
However, under Section L. 46 LC, an employer is prohibited from using a CDD for a position that was eliminated in the previous six months due to economic reasons, unless the new contract is for a non-renewable period of less than three months.
: 2
Section L. 42 (1) LC: No more than two successive fixed-term contracts with the same employer.
However, Sections L. 42 and L. 43 of the LC establish exceptions to this rule for certain categories of workers (agricultural workers, dockers, and some seasonal workers), which are governed by specific regulations, and for certain temporary activities.
In addition, FTCs concluded for a specified piece of work are not subject to duration limitations, but they cannot be renewed (§ L. 44 LC).
Maximum cumulative duration of successive FTCs: 48month(s)
Section L. 42 LC. No worker may conclude more than two FTCs with the same employer or renew a FTC more than once.
Section L. 44 (2) LC. An FTC cannot be concluded for more than two years.
This limitation does not apply to FTCs concluded for the execution of a specified piece of work; such contracts are, however, not renewable.
Maximum probationary (trial) period (in months): 6 month(s)
▷ Labour Code (LC)
→ Under Section L. 38 LC, the maximum probationary period is six months, including any renewals. Specific collective agreements may specify shorter durations, such as three months for managers and one month for non-managers
▷ Inter-occupational collective agreement
→ Section 11 of the Inter-occupational collective agreement foresees specific trial periods according to the worker's category, as follows:
• 1 month for monthly paid workers, supervisors, technicians and similar workers;
• 3 months for engineers, managers;
• 8 days for workers paid on an hourly or daily basis.
The trial period can be renewed once.
Excluded from protection against dismissal: Yes
Section L. 40 LC provides that a probationary contract can be terminated at any time by either party without prior notice, unless the contract specifies otherwise.
Obligation to provide reasons to the employee: Yes
Valid grounds (justified dismissal):
Prohibited grounds: maternity leave, race, sex, religion, political opinion, social origin, trade union membership and activities
Section L. 56 LC and Section 7 of the Inter-occupational Collective Agreement on the prohibition of dismissal on the basis of trade union activities and membership, and on the basis of the opinions of the worker.
Section L. 143 LC on the prohibition of dismissal during the suspension of the contract due to maternity leave (no reference to the prohibition of dismissal on the basis of pregnancy)
Section L. 1 and L. 29-1 to L.29-4 LC on the prohibition of discrimination, including on the basis of race, colour, age, sex, union activity, religion, political opinion, national ancestry, ethnicity, social origin, disability, pregnancy, family situation, health status and HIV status.
Workers enjoying special protection: workers' representatives, pregnant women and/or women on maternity leave
→ Section L. 143 LC on the prohibition of dismissal during the suspension of the contract due to maternity leave (no reference to the prohibition of dismissal on the basis of pregnancy).
→ In addition, Sections L. 214-L.2017 provide for mandatory approval by the Labour Inspector prior to any dismissal of a workers' representative and specify remedies for wrongful dismissal.
Notification to the worker to be dismissed: written
Under Section L.50 LC, a written notice of termination must be delivered to the employee and must state the reason for termination.
Notice period:
▷ Under Section L.50 LC, the notice periods are determined by a ministerial decree or a collective agreement based on professional category and seniority.
▷ The National Interprofessional Collective Agreement
→ Section 23 of the Inter-occupational Collective Agreements establishes a specific duration for the notice period, depending on the worker's category.
▻ For non-executive monthly-paid workers, the notice period is one month.
▻ The duration of the notice period is 3 months for executives and similar workers.
▻ For blue-collar workers and permanent staff paid on an hourly, daily or weekly basis, notice period varies according to the worker's category and length of service, as follows:
• Less than one year of service: 8 days (categories 1 to 4) / 15 days (categories 5 to 7).
• From 1 to 5 years of service: 15 days (categories 1 to 4) / 15 days (categories 5 to 7).
• More than 5 years: 1 month (categories 1 to 4) / 1 month (categories 5 to 7).
Pay in lieu of notice: Yes
Under Section L.53 LC, pay in lieu of "indemnité de préavis" is payable by the party that fails to observe the notice period, equivalent to the salary and benefits the worker would have received. This indemnity is doubled if the termination occurs while the employee is on leave.
Notification to the public administration: Yes
Sections L.60 to L.62 require notification of public administration in case of an individual dismissal, collective dismissal, or dismissals based on economic grounds.
In addition, Section L.214 LC requires such notification for any dismissal of a workers' representative.
Notification to workers' representatives: Yes
Under Section L.61 LC, in cases of collective dismissals, the employer must meet with employee representatives to explore alternatives to dismissal.
Approval by public administration or judicial bodies: Yes
However, the requirement applies only to certain protected workers.
Under Section L.214 LC, the dismissal of employee representatives requires the prior authorization of the Inspector of Labour and Social Security.
Approval by workers' representatives: No
In cases of dismissal, no approval is required from workers' representatives.
Definition of collective dismissal (number of employees concerned) No legal definition. Specific requirements apply to any economic dismissal of one or more employees.
Section L.60 LC refers to any collective or individual dismissal based on economic grounds.
Notification to the public administration Yes
Under Sections L.60 and L.61, LC consultations with employee representatives are mandatory to explore alternatives to dismissal.
Notification to trade union (workers' representatives) Yes
Under sections L. 60 to L. 61 LC, a report of the consultation meeting must be sent to the Labour Inspector and Social Security within eight days, who then has a fifteen-day period to intervene.
Notification to workers' representatives: Yes
Under Sections L.60 to L.62 of the LC, the employer is required to communicate the list of workers to be dismissed in writing to employee representatives.
Approval by trade union (workers' representatives) No
No requirement in cases of collective dismissal. Approval is, however, needed for the dismissal of employee representatives, which requires the Inspector of Labour and Social Security's prior authorisation (§ L.214 LC).
Approval by workers' representatives No
The employer is only required to consult and gather suggestions, but not to obtain approval.
Priority rules for collective dismissals (social considerations, age, job tenure) Yes
Under Section L.62 LC, the order of dismissal is based on professional aptitude first, followed by seniority. Seniority is increased by one year for a married worker and by one year for each dependent child.
Employer's obligation to consider alternatives to dismissal (transfers, retraining...) Yes
▷ Labour Code
→ Under Section L. 62 LC: A worker dismissed for economic reasons is entitled to priority hiring in the same category for two years.
▷ Inter-occupational Collective Agreement
→ Section 10 of the Inter-occupational Collective Agreement indicates that an employee dismissed due to job cuts or staff reductions retains priority hiring in the same job category for two years. After one year, the employee may be subject to a trial period under the conditions set out in Section 11 below. An employee benefiting from priority hiring is required to notify their employer of any change of address occurring after their departure from the establishment.
Priority rules for re-employment Yes
Under Section L.61 LC: With the aim of avoiding redundancy, the employer must consult with staff representatives and ascertain whether other possibilities, such as reducing working time, training, or reassigning staff, may avert the proposed dismissals.
Severance pay:
No provision in the LC. However, severance pay is governed by Section 30 of the Inter-occupational Collective Agreement:
Workers are entitled to severance pay, provided they have been continuously employed for a period of at least one year and have not committed any serious misconduct. Severance pay corresponds to a percentage of the monthly overall wages per year of service and is set according to the length of service as follows:
• 25% per year during the first 5 years
• 30% per year during the subsequent 5 years
• 40% per year after the tenth year.
tenure ≥ 6 months: 0 month(s).
tenure ≥ 9 months: 0 month(s).
tenure ≥ 1 year: 0.25 month(s).
tenure ≥ 2 years: 0.5 month(s).
tenure ≥ 4 years: 1 month(s).
tenure ≥ 5 years: 1.25 month(s).
tenure ≥ 10 years: 2.75 month(s).
tenure ≥ 20 years: 6.75 month(s).
Redundancy payment:
Section L.62 LC: when a worker is dismissed on economic grounds, he or she will be entitled to 1 month's gross wages in addition to severance pay.
tenure ≥ 6 months: 1 month(s).
tenure ≥ 9 months: 1 month(s).
tenure ≥ 1 year: 1.25 month(s).
tenure ≥ 2 years: 1.5 month(s).
tenure ≥ 4 years: 2 month(s).
tenure ≥ 5 years: 2.25 month(s).
tenure ≥ 10 years: 3.75 month(s).
tenure ≥ 20 years: 7.75 month(s).
1) Individual dismissal (non-economic and except for serious misconduct): severance pay.
2) Economic dismissal (individual and collective): redundancy payment = severance pay + 1 month's gross wages.
mine workers: Yes
Section L.56 LC provides that a Court can award damages (dommages-intérêts) in cases of "abusive termination." The amount is determined based on factors such as the worker's age and years of service.
: Yes
Under Section L. 56 LC, compensation for "abusive dismissal" is fixed by the court based on proof of the prejudice caused.
Yes
Under Section L. 56 LC, compensation for "abusive dismissal" is fixed by the court based on proof of the prejudice caused.
managerial / executive positions: Yes
Section L. 217 LC. Reinstatement is required when a worker's representative has been dismissed without prior authorization from the Labour Inspector.
police: Yes
→ Under Section L.241 LC, employers and workers have the right to refer cases of work conflict or disputes to the Inspector of Labour and Social Security for a conciliation attempt.
→ Under Section L.251 LC, conciliation is part of the procedure to be followed before the labour courts.
Under Section L. 229 LC, the Labour Court has jurisdiction over labour disputes for litigation.
Existing arbitration: No
Length of procedure: 12day(s)
There is no indication of the total length of the procedure.
However, under Section L.243 LC, the Labour Court president must summon parties for a conciliation hearing within five days of a request, and the hearing must take place within a maximum of twelve days.
Burden of Proof: employer
Under Section L.56 LC, the burden of proving a legitimate reason for dismissal rests on the employer.