According to the recent Macron Edits of September 2017, the amount of damages granted by the French Labour Court for unfair dismissal is now capped depending on the employee’s length of service and the number of employees within the company.
The below scale will apply to all dismissals/redundancies notified as from September 27, 2017.
|
Length of service |
Minimum indemnity (in months of gross salary) |
Maximum indemnity (in months of gross salary) |
|
| Company having less than 11 employees | Company having at least 11 employees | ||
|
0 |
N/A | N/A | 1 |
| 1 | 0.5 | 1 |
2 |
| 2 | 0.5 | 3 |
3.5 |
|
3 |
1 | 3 |
4 |
|
4 |
1 | 3 | 5 |
|
5 |
1.5 | 3 |
6 |
|
6 |
1.5 | 3 | 7 |
| 7 | 2 | 3 |
8 |
|
8 |
2 | 3 | 8 |
|
9 |
2.5 | 3 | 9 |
| 10 | 2.5 | 3 |
10 |
|
11 |
3 | 10,5 | |
|
12 |
3 |
11 |
|
| 13 | 3 |
11,5 |
|
|
14 |
3 | 12 | |
|
15 |
3 |
13 |
|
| 16 | 3 |
13,5 |
|
|
17 |
3 |
14 |
|
|
18 |
3 | 14,5 | |
|
19 |
3 |
15 |
|
| 20 | 3 |
15,5 |
|
|
21 |
3 |
16 |
|
|
22 |
3 | 16,5 | |
|
23 |
3 |
17 |
|
| 24 | 3 |
17,5 |
|
|
25 |
3 | 18 | |
| 26 | 3 |
18,5 |
|
| 27 | 3 |
19 |
|
|
28 |
3 | 19,5 | |
|
29 |
3 |
20 |
|
| 30 and above | 3 |
20 |
|
This new scale provides for damages substantially lower than the amounts currently granted by the Franch Labour Courts in case of unfair dismissal. The purposes of this reform are to reduce the risks faced by the employers in case of dismissal/redundancy in France, and to offer an acceptable level of legal certainty for the employers.
Unless the employee claims for additional and potentially costly damages, such as unpaid overtime, it might be preferable for the employer to settle quickly in light of the maximum amount set by the new legal scale. Such a practice, which can be observed in Spain, would allow both parties to pacify the termination and move on.
Please note that if the French Labour Court were to declare a dismissal as null (e.g. in case of harassment or dismissal based on a discriminatory ground), the above scale would not apply and the employee would be entitled to receive a minimum amount of damages equal to 6 months of salary (and the maximum amount of damages would not be capped).
For more information contact MGG Legal
