How to Challenge a Fitness-for-Work Opinion (Inaptitude) Within 15 Days in France

The occupational physician (médecin du travail) has just issued a finding of unfitness for work (avis d’inaptitude) and you disagree? Whether you are an employer or an employee, a specific remedy is available before the labour court (conseil de prud’hommes) — but be warned, the deadline is only 15 days. Once this deadline passes, the opinion becomes final and binds everyone, including the judge. Here is how to effectively challenge a fitness-for-work opinion.

What remedy exists against an occupational physician’s fitness-for-work opinion?

The French Labour Code provides a specific remedy before the labour court (conseil de prud’hommes) to challenge medical opinions issued by the occupational health service where they “are based on elements of a medical nature”: fitness opinions, findings of unfitness (avis d’inaptitude), and proposals for workstation adjustments. This remedy allows the judge to assess the merits of the opinion, if necessary with the assistance of an expert physician (médecin expert) appointed by the court.

This remedy is the only mechanism available to challenge the medical classification (fitness/unfitness) and the scope of the recommendations. No other remedy — in particular in subsequent dismissal litigation — allows the validity of the opinion to be challenged once the deadline has expired.

What is the deadline for challenging a finding of unfitness?

The deadline is 15 days from receipt of the opinion by the challenging party (and not from the date the physician issued it). This deadline has an absolute extinctive effect: after 15 days, the opinion binds the parties and the labour court judge. It is no longer possible to challenge:

The validity of the opinion.
Its wording (including incidental errors such as the job title).
The physician’s due diligence (compliance with Article R. 4624-42 of the French Labour Code).

The French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) has confirmed this unambiguously: “after the fifteen-day deadline, the occupational physician’s opinion binds the parties and the judge” (Cass. soc., 7 December 2022, no. 21-23.662; 25 October 2023, no. 22-18.303).

How can you prove the date of receipt of the opinion?

The certain date of notification is crucial since it triggers the deadline. The following constitute valid proof:

The acknowledgement of receipt of a registered letter (lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception, LRAR).
Personal delivery against a dated and signed acknowledgement (remise en main propre avec émargement).
A reliable electronic acknowledgement with a time stamp.

Warning: personal delivery without signature or acknowledgement does not trigger the deadline. The Cour de cassation has been very clear on this point (Cass. soc., 2 March 2022, no. 20-21.715). Likewise, a later notification (by simple email or a second letter) does not retroactively cure the absence of a certain date at the time of the first delivery (Cass. soc., 4 December 2024, no. 23-18.128).

Practical tip for the employer: as soon as the opinion is delivered, have an acknowledgement document signed with the date and keep it carefully. This document will serve as evidence if the starting point of the deadline is disputed.

Who can challenge a finding of unfitness?

The remedy is available to both the employee and the employer, each on their own grounds:

The employee may challenge if they consider that the unfitness is not justified or that the physician’s recommendations are inappropriate.
The employer may challenge if they consider the opinion to be too restrictive (for example, where an exemption from the redeployment obligation was not granted although it would have been justified) or that the restrictions imposed are disproportionate.

How to bring the matter before the labour court?

The claim is filed before the labour court (conseil de prud’hommes), often in summary proceedings (forme des référés) (expedited procedure). Here are the typical claims to make:

Appointment of an expert physician (médecin expert) to examine the employee and assess the merits of the opinion.
Disclosure to the judge of the medical elements on which the occupational physician relied (subject to medical confidentiality).
Confirmation or reversal of the finding of unfitness.
Where applicable, a request for a new medical examination.

Important point: filing a claim before the labour court does not suspend the procedure. The employer must continue to carry out the procedure in parallel: search for redeployment, consultation of the works council (CSE), and compliance with the D+30 deadline for resuming payment of salary.

What strategy should be adopted during the challenge?

Challenging the opinion creates a dual-track situation that the employer must manage rigorously:

Track A: the judicial remedy

File the claim within 15 days.
Prepare the medical and factual elements for the expert.
Await the labour court’s decision.

Track B: the redeployment procedure (in parallel)

Continue the search for redeployment (unless a valid exemption applies).
Consult the works council (CSE).
Comply with the D+30 counter — resumption of salary payment is due even where a remedy has been filed (Cass. soc., 10 January 2024, no. 22-13.464).

The key question is the timing of the decision to terminate: if the remedy has good prospects of success, it may be prudent to postpone notification of the dismissal until the labour court’s decision, in order to avoid dismissing on the basis of an opinion that could be reversed. In return, the cost of resuming salary payment at D+30 must be anticipated.

What happens depending on the outcome of the remedy?

The opinion is confirmed

The procedure resumes its normal course: the employer continues (or completes) the search for redeployment and, where applicable, proceeds with dismissal for unfitness and impossibility of redeployment.

The opinion is reversed

The situation changes radically: there is no longer any unfitness, and therefore no longer any legal basis for a dismissal for unfitness. The employer must reinstate the employee in their position (possibly adjusted) or, if a new examination is ordered, await its conclusions.

No remedy filed within 15 days

The opinion becomes final and irrevocable. The employer carries out the standard procedure: redeployment → CSE → offers → decision (effective redeployment or dismissal).

Which errors in the opinion can be challenged?

The D+15 remedy covers all medical aspects of the opinion, including:

The classification of unfitness itself.
The scope of the recommendations (restrictions, adjustments).
The existence or absence of an exemption from the redeployment obligation.
Material errors in the opinion (incorrect job title, questionable wording).

Trap to avoid: material errors must imperatively be challenged through the D+15 remedy. They can no longer be raised in subsequent dismissal litigation (Cass. soc., 25 October 2023, no. 22-18.303). Do not let the deadline pass on the assumption that the error is “minor”.

Operational script: challenging a finding of unfitness in 4 steps

Time-stamp: record both the date of issue AND the date of receipt of the opinion (with supporting evidence).
Decide within 10 days: “Do we challenge?” If yes, file with the labour court and prepare the claims (expert, disclosure of elements, new examination).
Proceed in parallel: continue the redeployment and the CSE sequence, maintaining a logbook with evidence.
Synchronise: as soon as the labour court’s decision is issued, review the trajectory — if the opinion is confirmed, continue; if it is reversed, recalibrate.

Documents to keep to secure the file

The finding of unfitness (original version).
Proof(s) of receipt (acknowledgement of receipt, signed acknowledgement, time stamp).
Letters and emails exchanged with the occupational health service.
The labour court claim and any order issued.
The expert report and the expert physician’s conclusions.
The logbook of the redeployment search.
The minutes of the works council (CSE).
The redeployment offers and the employee’s responses.
The dismissal letter or the redeployment documents.

FAQ — Challenging a finding of unfitness

Is the 15-day deadline a clear-day deadline?

The deadline runs from the day of receipt of the opinion. It is a 15-calendar-day deadline. The labour court must be seised within this deadline, failing which the opinion becomes definitively binding.

Can the opinion be challenged after a dismissal?

No. If the 15 days have passed without a remedy, the opinion is final. The employee will not be able to challenge the opinion in subsequent dismissal litigation (Cass. soc., 7 December 2022, no. 21-23.662).

Must the employer continue the procedure during the challenge?

Yes. Filing a claim before the labour court does not suspend the procedure. The employer must continue the redeployment search and comply with the D+30 deadline for resuming salary payment.

What if the date of receipt cannot be proven?

If there is no proof of a certain date, the 15-day deadline does not begin to run. The employer has every interest in securing this proof as soon as notification is made, in order to avoid a late challenge.

Do you wish to challenge a finding of unfitness or secure your procedure? Contact the lawyers at DAIRIA for tailored support.

To go further, consult our complete guide to dismissal.

The employer’s obligations regarding health and safety at work

The employer is bound by a safety obligation towards its employees, based on Article L.4121-1 of the French Labour Code. It must take the necessary measures to ensure the safety and protect the physical and mental health of workers, including:

Actions to prevent occupational risks and arduous working conditions
Information and training actions
The implementation of an appropriate organisation and resources

These measures are based on the 9 general principles of prevention set out in Article L.4121-2: avoid risks, assess those that cannot be avoided, combat risks at source, adapt the work to the individual, take account of the state of technical progress, replace what is dangerous, plan prevention, give priority to collective protection measures, and provide appropriate instructions.

The Single Occupational Risk Assessment Document (Document Unique d’Évaluation des Risques Professionnels, DUERP), provided for in Article R.4121-1, is mandatory in any company from the first employee. It must be updated at least annually in companies with at least 11 employees, and upon any significant change modifying working conditions.

Law no. 2021-1018 of 2 August 2021 reinforcing prevention in occupational health broadened the obligations relating to the DUERP, in particular by requiring it to be kept for 40 years and filed electronically. Consult our employment law page for further details.

Managing unfitness: procedure and obligations

An employee’s unfitness, established by the occupational physician under the procedure provided for in Article L.4624-4 of the French Labour Code, imposes on the employer a redeployment (reclassement) obligation (Article L.1226-2 for non-occupational unfitness, L.1226-10 for unfitness of occupational origin).

The procedure unfolds as follows:

The occupational physician establishes the unfitness after a medical examination and, if necessary, a study of the workstation and working conditions
The employer has a one-month deadline from the finding of unfitness to redeploy or dismiss the employee
The redeployment search must be genuine and serious, covering all available positions within the company and the group
The works council (CSE) must be consulted on the redeployment proposals (Articles L.1226-2 and L.1226-10)
If redeployment is impossible (or if the occupational physician states that any continued employment would be seriously detrimental to the employee’s health), the employer may proceed with dismissal for unfitness

The Cour de cassation has recalled in a ruling that the employer cannot merely invoke the absence of an available position without justifying the concrete redeployment steps undertaken within the company and the group.

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