How to Challenge a Medical Inaptitude Notice from the Occupational Physician Within 15 Days?

The occupational physician has just issued a medical inaptitude notice, and you disagree? Whether you are an employer or an employee, you have a specific appeal process before the Conseil de prud’hommes (labor tribunal) — but beware, the deadline is only 15 days. After this period, the notice becomes final and binding for all, including the judge. Here’s how to effectively contest a medical inaptitude notice.

What is the appeal against a medical inaptitude notice from the occupational physician?

The Labour Code provides for a specific recourse before the conseil de prud’hommes to contest medical opinions from the occupational health service that “are based on medical elements”: fitness notices, medical inaptitude notices, job modification proposals. This recourse allows the judge to assess the validity of the notice, possibly with the assistance of a court-appointed expert physician.

This recourse is the only mechanism that allows for a challenge to the medical qualification (fit/unfit) and the scope of the recommendations. No other appeal — particularly in the context of subsequent dismissal litigation — allows for contesting the validity of the notice once the deadline has expired.

What is the deadline for contesting a medical inaptitude notice?

The deadline is 15 days from the receipt of the notice by the contesting party (and not from the date of issue by the physician). This deadline has an absolute extinguishing effect: after 15 days, the notice binds the parties and the labor judge. It is no longer possible to challenge:

The validity of the notice.
Its contents (including ancillary errors such as job title).
The actions of the physician (compliance with article R. 4624-42).

The Court of Cassation has confirmed this unequivocally: “after the fifteen-day period, the notice from the occupational physician binds the parties and the judge” (Cass. soc., December 7, 2022, n° 21-23.662; October 25, 2023, n° 22-18.303).

How to prove the date of receipt of the notice?

The certain notification date is crucial as it starts the clock ticking. Valid proof includes:

An acknowledgment of receipt for a registered letter (LRAR).
Hand delivery with a dated and signed acknowledgment.
A reliable electronic acknowledgment with timestamp.

Caution: hand delivery without signature or acknowledgment does not start the deadline. The Court of Cassation has been very clear on this point (Cass. soc., March 2, 2022, n° 20-21.715). Similarly, a later notification (by simple email or second letter) does not retroactively regularize the lack of a certain date during the first delivery (Cass. soc., December 4, 2024, n° 23-18.128).

Practical advice for employers: upon delivery of the notice, have the recipient sign a dated acknowledgment and keep it safe. This document will serve as proof in case the starting point of the deadline is contested.

Who can contest the medical inaptitude notice?

The appeal is open to both the employee and the employer, each for their own grievances:

The employee can contest if they believe that the inaptitude is not justified or that the physician’s recommendations are inappropriate.
The employer can contest if they consider that the notice is too restrictive (e.g., a reassignment exemption not granted when it would be justified) or that the imposed restrictions are disproportionate.

How to file with the conseil de prud’hommes?

The filing is done before the conseil de prud’hommes, often in the emergency procedure (accelerated process). Here are the typical requests to be made:

Appointment of an expert physician to examine the employee and assess the validity of the notice.
Disclosure to the judge of the medical elements relied upon by the occupational physician (under medical confidentiality).
Confirmation or annulment of the medical inaptitude notice.
If necessary, request a new medical examination.

Important point: the referral to the CPH is not suspensive. The employer must continue the proceedings in parallel: seeking reassignment, consulting the CSE (Social and Economic Committee), complying with the D+30 deadline for salary resumption.

What strategy to adopt during the contesting process?

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

Track A: Judicial Recourse

File the request within 15 days.
Prepare the medical and factual elements for the expert.
Await the CPH decision.

Track B: Reassignment Procedure (in parallel)

Continue the search for reassignment (unless valid exemption).
Consult the CSE.
Respect the D+30 countdown — salary resumption is due even in case of appeal (Cass. soc., January 10, 2024, n° 22-13.464).

The key question is the timing of the termination decision: if the appeal has good chances of succeeding, it may be prudent to postpone the termination notification until the CPH decision, in order to avoid terminating based on a notice that might be overturned. Conversely, one must anticipate the cost of resuming salary at D+30.

What happens based on the outcome of the appeal?

The notice is confirmed

The procedure resumes its normal course: the employer continues (or concludes) the search for reassignment and, if necessary, proceeds with termination for inaptitude and impossibility of reassignment.

The notice is overturned

The situation changes dramatically: there is no longer an inaptitude, and thus no legal basis for a termination for inaptitude. The employer must reintegrate the employee into their position (possibly modified) or, if a new examination is ordered, wait for its conclusions.

No appeal filed within 15 days

The notice becomes final and irrevocable. The employer follows the standard procedure: reassignment → CSE → offers → decision (effective reassignment or termination).

What errors in the notice can be contested?

The D+15 appeal covers all medical aspects of the notice, including:

The inaptitude qualification itself.
The scope of the recommendations (restrictions, adaptations).
The existence or absence of reassignment exemption.
Any material errors in the notice (erroneous job title, debatable mentions).

Pitfall to avoid: material errors must absolutely be contested via the D+15 appeal. They cannot be invoked in subsequent dismissal litigation (Cass. soc., October 25, 2023, n° 22-18.303). Do not let the deadline pass thinking the error is “minor.”

Operational script: contest a medical inaptitude notice in 4 steps

Timestamp: record both the issue date AND the receipt date of the notice (with supporting documents).
Decide within 10 days: “Do we contest?” If yes, file with the CPH and prepare the requests (expert, communication of elements, new examination).
Proceed in parallel: continue reassignment efforts and the CSE sequence, maintaining a log with evidence.
Synchronize: as soon as the CPH decision is announced, revisit the plan — if the notice is confirmed, continue; if it is overturned, recalibrate.

Documents to keep to secure the file

Medical inaptitude notice (original version).
Proof(s) of receipt (AR, acknowledgment, timestamp).
Correspondence and emails exchanged with the occupational health service.
CPH request and any order issued.
Expert report and conclusions from the expert physician.
Log of reassignment efforts.
Minutes of the CSE.
Reassignment offers and employee responses.
Termination letter or reassignment acts.

FAQ — Contestation of the medical inaptitude notice

Is the 15-day deadline a strict deadline?

The deadline runs from the day of receipt of the notice. It is a 15 calendar day period. The referral to the CPH must occur within this timeframe; otherwise, the notice is binding definitively.

Can the notice be contested after termination?

No. If the 15 days have passed without an appeal, the notice is final. The employee cannot contest the notice in subsequent termination litigation (Cass. soc., December 7, 2022, n° 21-23.662).

Must the employer continue the procedure during the contestation?

Yes. The referral to the CPH is not suspensive. The employer must continue the reassignment search and comply with the D+30 deadline for salary resumption.

What to do if the date of receipt is not proven?

If there is no proof of the certain date, the 15-day deadline does not run. The employer has every interest in securing this proof upon notification to avoid a late contestation.

Do you wish to contest a medical inaptitude notice or secure your procedure? Contact the attorneys at DAIRIA for personalized support.

To learn more, consult our comprehensive guide on termination.

Employer Obligations Regarding Health and Safety at Work

Employers are bound by an obligation of safety towards their employees, based on article L.4121-1 of the Labour Code. They must take the necessary measures to ensure safety and protect the physical and mental health of workers, which includes:

Actions to prevent professional risks and hardship.
Actions for information and training.
Establishing an organization and means that are adapted.

These measures are based on the 9 general principles of prevention defined in article L.4121-2: avoid risks, assess those that cannot be avoided, combat risks at the source, adapt work to the individual, consider the state of technology, replace what is dangerous, plan for prevention, prioritize collective protection measures, and provide appropriate instructions.

The Document Unique d’Évaluation des Risques Professionnels (DUERP), mandated by article R.4121-1, is compulsory in every company as of the first employee. It must be updated at least annually in companies with at least 11 employees, and whenever there are significant changes affecting working conditions.

Law n° 2021-1018 of August 2, 2021, which strengthens health prevention at work, has expanded the obligations concerning the DUERP, including requiring its retention for 40 years and its digital deposit. Visit our labour law page for more details.

Managing Inaptitude: Procedure and Obligations

An employee deemed medically unfit, as determined by the occupational physician under the procedure established by article L.4624-4 of the Labour Code, imposes upon the employer an obligation of reassignment (article L.1226-2 for non-professional inaptitude, L.1226-10 for inaptitude due to work-related reasons).

The procedure unfolds as follows:

The occupational physician finds the inaptitude after a medical examination and, if necessary, an assessment of the job conditions.
The employer has a one-month deadline from the inaptitude notice to either reassign the employee or terminate them.
The search for reassignment must be fair and serious, covering all available positions within the company and group.
The CSE must be consulted on reassignment proposals (articles L.1226-2 and L.1226-10).
If reassignment is not possible (or if the occupational physician states that any maintenance in a position would be severely detrimental to the individual’s health), the employer may proceed with termination for inaptitude.

The Court of Cassation reiterated in a ruling Cass. soc., November 22, 2023, n° 22-12.678 that the employer cannot merely invoke the lack of available posts without justifying the concrete reassignment efforts undertaken within the company and group.

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