The Pre-Dismissal Interview in France: A 2025 Practical Guide for Employers

The pre-dismissal interview (entretien préalable au licenciement) is a mandatory and essential step in the dismissal procedure for personal reasons. Governed by Articles L. 1232-2 to L. 1232-4 of the French Labour Code, it guarantees the employee’s right to be heard before the employer takes any decision. Failure to comply exposes the company to significant financial penalties.

The Legal Obligation to Hold a Pre-Dismissal Interview

Any dismissal for personal reasons requires a pre-dismissal interview, whether the dismissal is disciplinary or non-disciplinary. This obligation applies regardless of the company’s headcount and regardless of the employee’s length of service.

The purpose is twofold:

To set out the grounds for the contemplated dismissal to the employee (Article L. 1232-3)
To gather the employee’s explanations and observations

The pre-dismissal interview is not a mere formality: it is an adversarial discussion (débat contradictoire) that may influence the employer’s final decision. The French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) regularly recalls that the employer must not have made its decision before the interview (Cass. soc., 12 February 2014, No. 12-25.592).

The Invitation Letter: Mandatory Form and Content

The invitation to the pre-dismissal interview must be sent to the employee by:

Registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt (lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception, LRAR)
Or letter delivered by hand against a signed receipt (remise en main propre contre décharge)

The content of the invitation is strictly regulated by Article L. 1232-2. It must state:

The purpose of the interview: the contemplated dismissal of the employee
The date, time and place of the interview
The right to assistance: the employee may be assisted by a person of their choice belonging to the company’s staff or, in the absence of staff representatives, by an external employee adviser (conseiller du salarié)
The address of the labour inspectorate (inspection du travail) and of the town hall where the list of employee advisers is available

Caution: Omitting the statement regarding the employee’s right to assistance, or giving an incorrect address for the list of advisers, constitutes a procedural irregularity giving rise to compensation (Cass. soc., 3 June 2015, No. 14-12.245).

The 5 Working Days’ Notice Period

Article L. 1232-2 imposes a minimum period of 5 working days (jours ouvrables) between the presentation of the invitation letter and the date of the interview. This period is calculated as follows:

The day the letter is presented does not count (dies a quo)
If the 5th day falls on a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday, the period is extended to the following first working day
Working days (jours ouvrables) are all days except Sunday and legal public holidays

Practical example: The registered letter is presented on Monday 6 January 2025. The count begins on Tuesday 7th (day 1), Wednesday 8th (day 2), Thursday 9th (day 3), Friday 10th (day 4), Saturday 11th (day 5). The interview may take place from Monday 13 January onwards.

Practical tip: Always build in a safety margin by scheduling the interview 7 to 8 days in advance to account for postal uncertainties. Where a registered letter is not collected, the period runs from the first presentation.

Conduct of the Pre-Dismissal Interview

The interview must be held during the employee’s working hours. Time spent in the interview is considered effective working time and must be paid as normal.

Place of the interview: in principle, the interview takes place at the employee’s workplace or at the company’s registered office. The Cour de cassation has upheld the holding of the interview at the premises of another company in the group, provided this does not create excessive difficulty for the employee (Cass. soc., 20 October 2009, No. 08-42.155).

Typical sequence:

The employer or its representative welcomes the employee and, where applicable, their assistant
The employer sets out the grounds for the contemplated dismissal
The employee is invited to speak and provide their explanations
An adversarial exchange takes place
The employer indicates that it will make its decision at a later date

The Employee’s Right to Assistance

The employee may be assisted by:

A company employee of their choice: union representative, member of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE), or any other colleague
An employee adviser (conseiller du salarié) (only in the absence of staff representatives in the company): an external person listed on a departmental register

The assistant may not speak in place of the employee, but may intervene to ask questions, request clarifications and take notes. They are bound by a duty of discretion regarding the information they become aware of (Article L. 1232-8).

The Employer’s Right to Assistance

The employer may be represented by a member of the company’s staff authorised to conduct the interview (HR director, line manager, site director). However, the employer may not be assisted by a lawyer or an external adviser.

The Cour de cassation accepts that the employer may be accompanied by several company staff members, provided this presence does not create a situation of intimidation for the employee (Cass. soc., 26 March 2013, No. 11-22.539).

Mistakes to Avoid During the Pre-Dismissal Interview

Announcing the decision during the interview: the employer must state that the dismissal is “contemplated” and not decided
Refusing to listen to the employee: the interview must be a genuine adversarial exchange
Recording the interview without the employee’s knowledge: covert recording is an unfair procedure
Involving an external third party: only staff members may assist the employer
Scheduling the interview on a non-working day: the interview must take place on a working day

FAQ – The Pre-Dismissal Interview

Must the employer draft minutes of the pre-dismissal interview?

No statutory text requires minutes to be drafted. However, it is strongly recommended to record the exchanges in writing to build evidence in the event of litigation.

What happens if the employee does not attend the interview?

The employee’s absence does not suspend the procedure. The employer may notify the dismissal within the legal time limits, provided the invitation requirements have been complied with.

Can the pre-dismissal interview be postponed?

Yes, the employer or the employee may request a postponement. If the employer postpones, it must send a new invitation while respecting the 5 working days’ notice period.

For tailored support with your dismissal procedures, contact DAIRIA Avocats. Our platform DAIRIA IA can help you generate invitation letters that comply with the French Labour Code.

The Legal Framework of Dismissal: Key Principles

Dismissal is strictly regulated by the French Labour Code. The employer must comply with a precise procedure, failing which the termination may be reclassified as a dismissal without real and serious cause (licenciement sans cause réelle et sérieuse). Article L. 1232-1 of the French Labour Code requires that any dismissal for personal reasons be justified by a real and serious cause, i.e. an objective, accurate and sufficiently serious ground.

The procedure necessarily comprises:

The invitation to a pre-dismissal interview (Article L. 1232-2): registered letter or hand delivery, with a minimum period of 5 working days before the interview
The pre-dismissal interview (Article L. 1232-3): during which the employer sets out the grounds for the contemplated decision and gathers the employee’s explanations
Notification of the dismissal (Article L. 1232-6): by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, at least 2 working days after the interview

Case law has clarified these requirements. In a ruling Cass. soc., 13 September 2023, No. 22-10.529, the Cour de cassation recalled that insufficient reasoning in the dismissal letter does not deprive the dismissal of real and serious cause but entitles the employee to compensation not exceeding one month’s salary. This solution follows Ordinance No. 2017-1387 of 22 September 2017.

To explore this topic further, see our complete guide to dismissal.

Severance Payments Due to the Dismissed Employee

Any dismissed employee is entitled, subject to meeting the length-of-service conditions, to several payments:

The statutory severance indemnity (indemnité légale de licenciement) (Article L. 1234-9 and Articles R. 1234-1 to R. 1234-4 of the French Labour Code): 1/4 of a month’s salary per year of service for the first 10 years, then 1/3 of a month beyond that. The minimum length of service required is 8 uninterrupted months
The compensatory payment in lieu of notice (indemnité compensatrice de préavis): unless the employer waives the notice period (in which case it remains due) or in cases of gross or wilful misconduct (faute grave/lourde)
The compensatory payment for paid leave (indemnité compensatrice de congés payés): for accrued but untaken days

In the event of a dismissal without real and serious cause, the employee may claim damages the amount of which is capped by the scale provided in Article L. 1235-3 of the French Labour Code (the “Macron” scale, barème Macron). This scale sets a floor and a ceiling based on the employee’s length of service and the company’s headcount.

The Cour de cassation confirmed the compliance of this scale in its rulings of 11 May 2022, No. 21-14.490 and 21-15.247, holding that it was contrary neither to Article 10 of ILO Convention No. 158 nor to Article 24 of the European Social Charter.

It is also advisable to check whether the applicable collective bargaining agreement provides more favourable provisions regarding the severance indemnity.

Practical Checklist: Securing a Dismissal

Here are the essential points of vigilance for employers:

✅ Verify that the ground relied upon does constitute a real and serious cause (or gross/wilful misconduct where applicable)
✅ Gather supporting evidence before initiating the procedure (witness statements, warning letters, appraisals, etc.)
✅ Scrupulously comply with the invitation notice periods (minimum 5 working days)
✅ State in the invitation the employee’s right to assistance (by a staff representative or an external adviser in the absence of a CSE)
✅ Draft the dismissal letter with precise and materially verifiable grounds
✅ Comply with the notification deadline (minimum 2 working days, maximum 1 month for disciplinary matters)
✅ Correctly calculate the severance indemnity, taking into account the collective bargaining agreement and the payslip
✅ Provide the end-of-contract documents: work certificate, France Travail certificate, final settlement statement (solde de tout compte)
✅ Inform the employee of the portability of the provident and health insurance cover (Article L. 911-8 of the French Social Security Code)

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