French Labour Law

Dismissal for Work-Related Unfitness in France: A Step-by-Step Guide for Employers

DAIRIA Law · 2026-08-04 · 11 min

Dismissal for Work-Related Unfitness in France: A Step-by-Step Guide for Employers

One of your employees has just been declared unfit (“inapte”) by the occupational physician (“médecin du travail”) following a workplace accident or an occupational illness. You must now manage a dismissal for work-related unfitness (“inaptitude d’origine professionnelle”) — one of the most tightly regulated procedures in French employment law. A single misstep — a missed deadline, an overlooked consultation of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE), or a poorly drafted letter — can turn this termination into a dismissal without real and serious cause (“cause réelle et sérieuse”), with doubled damages as a result.

This operational guide walks you through the process step by step, from the unfitness assessment to the final settlement account, telling you exactly what to do, in what order, and with what supporting evidence.

Work-related unfitness refers to the situation of an employee who, as a result of a workplace accident or an occupational illness, can no longer perform their job — even in an adapted form — as exclusively determined by the occupational physician. This finding triggers enhanced obligations for the employer, particularly regarding compensation.

Since the Law of 8 August 2016 (applicable from 1 January 2017), the procedure has been unified regardless of the origin of the unfitness: the steps (CSE consultation, search for redeployment, justification of the impossibility) are identical. However, compensation remains differentiated: where the origin is work-related, the employee is entitled to a doubled special dismissal indemnity and to an indemnity equivalent to the notice period (Articles L. 1226-14 and L. 1226-15 of the French Labour Code).

Key point: the date of the unfitness assessment is the triggering event for the entire procedure. It determines the applicable law and starts the clock on the employer’s obligations (Cass. soc., 11 May 2022, No. 20-20.717; 24 January 2024, No. 22-13.979).

For the protective regime of work-related unfitness to apply, two cumulative conditions must be met as at the date of termination:

  1. A causal link, at least partial, between the workplace accident/occupational illness (AT/MP) and the unfitness found by the occupational physician.
  2. The employer’s knowledge of this work-related origin at the time of notifying the dismissal.

In practice, the employer must build a solid evidentiary file: correspondence with the primary health insurance fund (CPAM), the occupational physician’s opinion, medical certificates, and the workplace accident declaration. If the employer legitimately was unaware of the work-related origin as at the date of termination, the ordinary (non-work-related) regime applies.

Step 1: Receive and analyse the unfitness assessment

Upon receipt of the assessment, you must carry out several essential checks:

  • Record the precise date of receipt (registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, signed hand delivery, electronic acknowledgement) — this date starts the 15-day period for challenging the assessment and the D+30 clock for the resumption of salary payment.
  • Read the wording of the assessment word for word to identify whether it contains a redeployment exemption (two legal wordings possible since 2017).
  • Verify formal compliance: the legal provisions referenced (R. 4624-42, L. 4624-4), the nature of the medical examination (return-to-work examination, examination on request — never a pre-return examination), and the mandatory particulars.

Note: since 2017, a single examination is sufficient to establish unfitness. A second examination is only required if the physician deems it necessary, within a period of 15 days (Article R. 4624-42 of the French Labour Code). The physician may even find unfitness during an examination organised while the contract is suspended, despite new sick-leave certificates (Cass. soc., 10 December 2025, No. 24-15.511).

Step 2: Check whether a redeployment exemption exists

A redeployment exemption exists only if the unfitness assessment expressly states one of the two legal wordings:

  1. “Any retention of the employee in a position would be seriously detrimental to their health”
  2. “The employee’s state of health precludes any redeployment in a position”

If one of these statements appears in the assessment without any restriction of scope, the employer is exempt from any search for redeployment and from consulting the CSE. It may proceed directly to the dismissal procedure (Cass. soc., 8 June 2022, No. 20-22.500; 16 November 2022, No. 21-17.255; 12 April 2023, No. 21-21.394).

Major pitfall: if the assessment restricts the exemption to “within the company” or “at the site”, this is not a blanket exemption. The employer remains required to search for redeployment in other establishments or at group level (Cass. soc., 8 February 2023, No. 21-11.356; 13 September 2023, No. 22-12.970; 13 December 2023, No. 22-19.603). Only wording that explicitly covers the entire scope (company, subsidiaries, holding company) constitutes a full exemption (Cass. soc., 12 February 2025, No. 23-22.612).

Step 3: Launch the search for redeployment

In the absence of a valid exemption, the redeployment obligation begins as at the date of the assessment. It applies within a precise scope:

  • All business sectors and establishments of the company (Cass. soc., 6 February 2008, No. 06-43.944).
  • The group within France, defined by shareholding control (Articles L. 233-1, L. 233-3 and L. 233-16 of the French Commercial Code), only within those entities where the interchangeability of staff is possible (Cass. soc., 5 July 2023, No. 22-10.158).

In concrete terms, you must:

  1. Map out all available positions within the company and the group.
  2. Request clarification from the occupational physician (Article L. 4624-4) on residual capacities, possible adaptations, and feasible training.
  3. Document every step: letters to subsidiaries, follow-ups, replies received, a table of compatible/incompatible positions.
  4. Establish the scope of the group with solid evidence: legal organisation chart, consolidated accounts, articles of association (Cass. soc., 6 November 2024, No. 23-15.368).

Redeployment offers must be serious, specific and made in good faith: job title, detailed duties, location, working hours, classification, remuneration, and planned adaptations (Cass. soc., 20 September 2006, No. 05-40.295). A vague offer — for example, a mere reference to “secretarial” or “reprographics” work in a summons — is not sufficient (Cass. soc., 7 January 2015, No. 13-13.793).

Good to know: if you make an offer that complies with the physician’s recommendations, recent case law presumes that the redeployment obligation has been satisfied. It is then for the employee to demonstrate a lack of good faith (Cass. soc., 4 September 2024, No. 22-24.005).

Step 4: Consult the CSE

Consultation of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE) is mandatory except where there is a valid and complete redeployment exemption. It must take place:

  • After the finding of unfitness (where two examinations were prescribed, after the second one).
  • Before any actual redeployment offer is made to the employee.
  • Before the dismissal procedure is initiated.

Beware of timing: a dismissal notified on the same day as the CSE meeting is regarded as without real and serious cause, unless the employer proves that the consultation took place earlier in time (Cass. soc., 5 March 2025, No. 23-13.802). Be sure to time-stamp every step systematically (time of the CSE meeting, time of the offer, time the letter was sent).

Step 5: Inform the employee of the impossibility of redeployment

If no redeployment position is available (or if the employee has refused a compliant offer), you must inform the employee in writing of the reasons preventing redeployment before initiating the dismissal procedure (Cass. soc., 15 December 2021, No. 20-18.782). A verbal notification or a mere mention in the dismissal letter is not sufficient (Cass. soc., 28 November 2018, No. 17-20.068).

This letter must set out in detail: the scope of the search conducted, the positions analysed, the reasons for incompatibility, the responses from group entities, and the exchanges with the occupational physician.

Exception: written information is not required where the employee refuses an offer that complies with the physician’s recommendations (Cass. soc., 24 March 2021, No. 19-21.263) or where there is a statutory exemption.

Step 6: Carry out the dismissal

Dismissal for work-related unfitness follows the procedure for dismissal on personal grounds:

  1. Summons to the preliminary interview (registered letter or hand delivery).
  2. Preliminary interview (at least 5 business days after the summons).
  3. Notification of dismissal (at least 2 business days after the interview).

The dismissal letter must imperatively state two cumulative elements:

  • The employee’s physical unfitness.
  • The impossibility of redeployment (or the exemption where the assessment provides for one).

Stating only “unfitness” without the impossibility of redeployment constitutes an imprecise ground that may be sanctioned (Cass. soc., 16 October 2024, No. 23-17.949).

Step 7: Calculate the termination indemnities

In the case of work-related unfitness, the employee is entitled to two specific indemnities provided for by Article L. 1226-14 of the French Labour Code:

The special dismissal indemnity

This is equal to twice the statutory dismissal indemnity (Article L. 1234-9). Note: only the statutory indemnity is doubled. The indemnity provided by the applicable collective bargaining agreement is never doubled unless the agreement expressly provides for it (Cass. soc., 25 March 2009, No. 07-41.708; 20 November 2024, No. 23-14.949).

Calculation method:

  • Calculate A = 2 × statutory dismissal indemnity.
  • Calculate B = collective bargaining agreement indemnity (not doubled).
  • Pay the more favourable amount: max(A, B).

The special indemnity must be quantified in gross terms (Cass. soc., 7 May 2024, No. 22-21.479).

The compensatory indemnity equal to the notice period

The employee receives an indemnity equal in amount to the compensatory notice-period indemnity provided for in Article L. 1234-5, but its legal nature is different. It is not a “notice-period indemnity” as such — it is a specific termination indemnity. Consequently:

  • It is calculated on the statutory notice period (not the collectively agreed period, even if longer) (Cass. soc., 12 July 1999, No. 97-43.641).
  • It is subject to social security contributions (Cass. soc., 11 January 2017, No. 15-19.959).
  • It does not give rise to entitlement to paid leave (Cass. soc., 4 December 2001, No. 99-44.677).
  • It may be combined with daily social security benefits (IJSS).
  • It does not push back the termination date, which remains that of the notification of the dismissal (Cass. soc., 15 June 1999, No. 97-15.328).

Beware of the one-month deadline: resumption of salary (D+30)

If, within the month following the finding of unfitness, the employee is neither redeployed nor dismissed, the employer must resume payment of the full salary. This period runs from the date of the medical examination establishing the unfitness (not from the date the employer receives the assessment) (Cass. soc., 1 December 2021, No. 19-20.139).

Points to watch:

  • A challenge to the assessment does not suspend the process: the D+30 clock runs even if an appeal is brought before the labour court (Cass. soc., 10 January 2024, No. 22-13.464).
  • Additional examinations or postponements do not prevent the salary from becoming due at the end of the month (Cass. soc., 8 April 2015, No. 13-22.461).

The complete procedural timeline

Here is the sequence you must imperatively follow:

  1. Day D — Unfitness assessment: record the date, start the D+15 (challenge) and D+30 (salary) clocks.
  2. D+1 to D+10 — Begin mapping out positions, request clarification from the occupational physician, and prepare the note for the CSE.
  3. After the search — Consult the CSE (after the finding of unfitness, showing both date AND time).
  4. Post-CSE — Send specific offers to the employee (or inform them in writing of the impossibility).
  5. Before D+30 — Initiate the dismissal procedure (summons → interview → letter) or, if this is not possible, resume payment of the salary.

FAQ — Dismissal for work-related unfitness

Can an employee be dismissed for unfitness during sick leave?

Yes, the occupational physician may find unfitness during an examination organised while the contract is suspended, and the dismissal may be notified even while the employee is on sick leave. The essential point is that the procedure (redeployment, CSE, written information) is fully complied with (Cass. soc., 10 December 2025, No. 24-15.511).

Can the employee challenge the unfitness assessment?

Yes, before the labour court (conseil de prud’hommes), within a period of 15 days from receipt of the assessment. After this period, the assessment is binding on the parties and on the court (Cass. soc., 7 December 2022, No. 21-23.662). However, this challenge does not suspend the process: the employer must continue the redeployment procedure in parallel.

What happens if the employee refuses the redeployment?

The refusal is not in itself a fault. The employer records the refusal, then either continues its search or concludes that redeployment is impossible. If the refused offer complied with the physician’s recommendations, the presumption of proper performance of the obligation operates in the employer’s favour (Cass. soc., 4 September 2024, No. 22-24.005).

Does the unfitness of a protected employee change the procedure?

Yes. For a protected employee (union representative, CSE member, etc.), the employer must obtain the authorisation of the labour inspectorate before proceeding with the dismissal. Disputes over the authorisation decision fall within the jurisdiction of the administrative courts.

Are you facing a work-related unfitness situation and wish to secure your procedure? Contact the lawyers at DAIRIA for tailored support.

To go further, consult our complete guide to dismissal and our AT/MP guide.

← All insights