Chapter V: Disputes and penalties for irregularities in dismissal

In the event of a dispute, during the conciliation provided for in Article L. 1411-1, the employer and employee may agree, or the conciliation and guidance office may propose, to put an end to the dispute by means of an agreement. This agreement provides for the payment by the employer to the employee of a fixed indemnity, the amount of which is determined, without prejudice to statutory, contractual or conventional…

The reasons set out in the letter of dismissal provided for in articles L. 1232-6, L. 1233-16 and L. 1233-42 may, after notification thereof, be specified by the employer, either on its own initiative or at the request of the employee, within the time limits and under the conditions set by decree of the Conseil d’Etat. The letter of dismissal, specified where applicable by the employer, sets the limits of…

In the event of multiple grounds for dismissal, if one of the grievances alleged against the employee infringes a fundamental freedom, the nullity of the termination does not exempt the court from examining all of the grievances set out, in order to take them into account, where applicable, in its assessment of the compensation to be awarded to the employee, without prejudice to the provisions ofarticle L. 1235-3-1.

If an employee is dismissed for a reason that is not genuine and serious, the judge may propose that the employee be reinstated in the company, while retaining his or her acquired benefits. If either party refuses this reinstatement, the judge will award the employee compensation payable by the employer, the amount of which is between the minimum and maximum amounts set out in the table below. Employee’s length of…

Article L. 1235-3 does not apply if the court finds that the dismissal is vitiated by one of the nullities provided for in the second paragraph of this article. In this case, if the employee does not request continued performance of his employment contract or if his reinstatement is impossible, the court shall award him compensation, payable by the employer, which may not be less than the last six months’…

When the employment contract is terminated by the court to the detriment of the employer or at the request of the employee under the procedure referred to inArticle L. 1451-1, the amount of compensation awarded is determined in accordance with the rules set out inArticle L. 1235-3, except when this termination produces the effects of a dismissal that is null and void in the cases mentioned in 1° to 6°…

In the cases provided for in Articles L. 1132-4, L. 1134-4, L. 1144-3, L. 1152-3, L. 1153-4, L. 1235-3 and L. 1235-11, the court shall order the offending employer to reimburse to the organisations concerned all or part of the unemployment benefits paid to the dismissed employee from the date of dismissal to the date of the judgment, up to a maximum of six months’ unemployment benefits per employee concerned….

The provisions relating to the reimbursement of unemployment benefits, set out in article L. 1235-4, in the event of failure to comply with articles L. 1235-3 and L. 1235-11, do not apply to the dismissal of an employee with less than two years’ seniority in the company or to dismissals in a company that usually employs less than eleven employees.

A decree in the Conseil d’Etat shall determine the terms and conditions for the application of this section.