How to Challenge a Work Doctor’s Unfitness Opinion Within 15 Days in France

The occupational physician (médecin du travail, work doctor) has just issued an unfitness opinion and you disagree? Whether you are the employer or the employee, you have a specific remedy before the conseil de prud’hommes (French labour court) — but be careful: the deadline is only 15 days. Once this period expires, the opinion becomes final and binds everyone, including the judge. Here is how to effectively challenge an unfitness opinion.

What remedy exists against a work doctor’s unfitness opinion?

The French Labour Code provides a specific remedy before the conseil de prud’hommes (labour court) to challenge the medical opinions of the occupational health service that “rely on elements of a medical nature”: fitness opinions, unfitness opinions (avis d’inaptitude), and proposals to adapt the position. This remedy allows the judge to assess the merits of the opinion, if necessary with the assistance of a medical expert appointed by the court.

This remedy is the only mechanism allowing the medical qualification (fitness/unfitness) and the scope of the recommendations to be called into question. No other remedy — in particular within the framework of subsequent dismissal litigation — allows the validity of the opinion to be challenged once the deadline has expired.

What is the deadline to challenge an unfitness opinion?

The deadline is 15 days from receipt of the opinion by the party who challenges it (and not from the date it was issued by the doctor). This deadline has an absolute extinguishing effect: after 15 days, the opinion binds the parties and the labour court judge. It is no longer possible to call into question:

The validity of the opinion.
Its statements (including ancillary errors such as the job title).
The doctor’s due diligence (compliance with Article R. 4624-42).

The Cour de cassation (French Supreme Court) confirmed this without ambiguity: “once the fifteen-day deadline has passed, the work doctor’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 to 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).
Hand delivery against a dated and signed acknowledgement (émargement).
A reliable electronic acknowledgement with a timestamp.

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

Practical advice for the employer: as soon as the opinion is delivered, have a signed acknowledgement document dated and kept carefully. This document will serve as proof in the event of a dispute over when the deadline started to run.

Who can challenge the unfitness opinion?

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

How to bring the matter before the labour court?

The matter is referred to the conseil de prud’hommes (labour court), often through fast-track proceedings (en la forme des référés). Here are the typical claims to make:

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

Important point: referring the matter to the labour court does not suspend the process. The employer must continue to carry out the procedure in parallel: searching for redeployment, consulting the CSE (social and economic committee), and complying with the D+30 deadline for resuming payment of salary.

What strategy to adopt during the challenge?

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

Track A: the judicial remedy

File the application 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 CSE.
Comply with the D+30 counter — the resumption of salary payment is due even in the event of a challenge (Cass. soc., 10 January 2024, No. 22-13.464).

The key question is the timing of the decision to terminate: if the challenge has a good chance of succeeding, it may be prudent to postpone notifying 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 challenge?

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 adapted) or, if a new examination is ordered, await its conclusions.

No challenge filed within 15 days

The opinion becomes final and irrevocable. The employer follows 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 qualification of unfitness itself.
The scope of the recommendations (restrictions, adaptations).
The existence or absence of an exemption from the redeployment obligation.
Material errors in the opinion (wrong job title, questionable statements).

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

Operational script: challenging an unfitness opinion in 4 steps

Timestamp: record the date the opinion was issued AND the date it was received (with supporting documents).
Decide within 10 days: “Do we challenge?” If so, refer the matter to the labour court and prepare the claims (expert, disclosure of elements, new examination).
Run in parallel: continue the redeployment search and the CSE sequence, maintaining a logbook with supporting evidence.
Synchronise: as soon as the labour court decision is issued, revise the trajectory — if the opinion is confirmed, continue; if it is reversed, recalibrate.

Documents to keep to secure the file

The unfitness opinion (original version).
Proof(s) of receipt (acknowledgement of receipt, signed acknowledgement, timestamp).
Letters and emails exchanged with the occupational health service.
Labour court application and any court order.
Expert report and conclusions of the medical expert.
Logbook of the redeployment search.
Minutes of the CSE.
Redeployment offers and the employee’s responses.
Dismissal letter or redeployment documents.

FAQ — Challenging the unfitness opinion

Is the 15-day deadline a clear-day deadline (délai franc)?

The deadline runs from the day the opinion is received. It is a period of 15 calendar days. The matter must be referred to the labour court within this period, failing which the opinion becomes definitively binding.

Can the opinion be challenged after a dismissal?

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

Must the employer continue the procedure during the challenge?

Yes. Referring the matter to the labour court does not suspend the process. The employer must continue the redeployment search and comply with the D+30 deadline for resuming salary payment.

What to do if the date of receipt cannot be proven?

If no proof of a certain date exists, the 15-day deadline does not 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 an unfitness opinion or secure your procedure? Contact DAIRIA’s lawyers for tailored assistance.

To go further, consult our complete guide to dismissal.

The employer’s obligations regarding health and safety at work

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

Actions to prevent occupational risks and hardship (pénibilité)
Information and training actions
The implementation of an appropriate organisation and means

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 work to the individual, take account of the state of technical evolution, replace what is dangerous, plan prevention, give priority to collective protection measures, and give 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 every company from the first employee. It must be updated at least annually in companies with at least 11 employees, and whenever a significant change affects working conditions.

Law No. 2021-1018 of 2 August 2021 strengthening prevention in occupational health broadened the obligations regarding the DUERP, notably 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

The employee’s unfitness, established by the work doctor according to the procedure provided for in Article L.4624-4 of the French Labour Code, imposes on the employer an obligation of redeployment (Article L.1226-2 for non-occupational unfitness, L.1226-10 for unfitness of occupational origin).

The procedure is as follows:

The work doctor establishes unfitness after a medical examination and, if necessary, a study of the position and working conditions
The employer has a period of one month from the unfitness opinion 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 CSE must be consulted on the redeployment proposals (Articles L.1226-2 and L.1226-10)
If redeployment is impossible (or if the work doctor states that any continued employment would be seriously detrimental to health), the employer may proceed with dismissal for unfitness

The Cour de cassation has held that the employer cannot simply invoke the absence of an available position without justifying the concrete redeployment steps undertaken within the company and the group.

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