Employees, managers and executives

Yes. The payment cannot be lower than the statutory or collective-agreement dismissal indemnity, but it can be higher. The amount, the termination date and the non-compete clause are all negotiable.

The employer and the employee on a permanent contract agree on the end of the contract during one or more meetings, then sign an agreement. Each party then has a 15-calendar-day withdrawal period. The agreement is sent to the labour administration, which has 15 working days to approve it; its silence amounts to approval. The termination payment cannot be lower than the statutory or collective-agreement severance pay.

Official source: Service-Public.fr (official page)

An employee on a permanent contract who is dismissed is entitled to statutory severance pay after at least eight months' uninterrupted service, except for serious or gross misconduct. It equals one quarter of a month's salary per year of service for the first ten years, then one third of a month per year beyond that. The collective agreement or the contract may provide for a more favourable amount, which then applies.

Official source: Service-Public.fr (official page)

The employment tribunal awards compensation between a minimum and a maximum set by a scale according to length of service and company size, expressed in months of salary. The scale does not apply where the dismissal is void, in particular in cases of harassment, discrimination or breach of a fundamental freedom: compensation may then not be less than six months' salary. The employee also keeps their severance pay.

Official source: Service-Public.fr (official page)

These are two routes available to an employee who accuses the employer of sufficiently serious breaches. With a prise d'acte, the contract ends immediately; the employment tribunal then decides whether it has the effects of an unfair dismissal or of a resignation. With judicial termination (résiliation judiciaire), the employee asks the court to terminate the contract while continuing to work during the proceedings. The choice between them requires prior analysis, as the risks differ.

It helps to gather precise evidence (emails, witness statements, medical certificates) and to alert the employer, the staff committee (CSE), the occupational physician or the labour inspectorate. In court, the employee presents facts suggesting harassment; it is then for the employer to prove that its decisions are justified by objective factors. A claim before the employment tribunal can be brought within five years of the last act.

Official source: Service-Public.fr (official page)

The burden of proof is shared: the employee must present sufficiently precise evidence of the hours claimed (records, diaries, emails), so that the employer, who is responsible for monitoring working time, can respond with its own evidence. Salary arrears, including overtime, can be claimed for the previous three years.

Official source: Service-Public.fr (official page)

Combining a corporate office with an employment contract is possible if the contract corresponds to an actual job, separate from the management functions (technical duties), performed under a relationship of subordination and with separate pay. It is however excluded where the director controls the company, because there is no subordination, for example a majority manager of a SARL.