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

The pre-dismissal interview (entretien préalable au licenciement) is a mandatory and essential step in the procedure for dismissal on personal grounds. Provided for 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

Every dismissal on personal grounds 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 reiterates that the employer must not have already made its decision before the interview.

The Notice: Mandatory Form and Content

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

Registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt (lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception, or LRAR)
Or a letter handed over in person against a signed receipt

The content of the notice is strictly governed 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 from among the company’s staff or, where there are no employee 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 entitling the employee to compensation (Cass. soc., 3 June 2015, No. 14-12.245).

The 5-Business-Day Period

Article L. 1232-2 requires a minimum period of 5 business days (jours ouvrables) between the presentation of the notice 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 next business day
Business days are all days except Sundays and statutory public holidays

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

Practical tip: Always allow a safety margin by giving 7 to 8 days’ notice to account for postal delays. If the registered letter is not collected, the period runs from the date of first presentation.

Conducting the Pre-Dismissal Interview

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

Location 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 holding the interview on the premises of another company within 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 receives the employee and, where applicable, the person assisting them
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 states that it will make its decision at a later stage

Assistance for the Employee

The employee may be assisted by:

A staff member of the company of their choice: union representative, member of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE), or any other colleague
An employee adviser (conseiller du salarié) (only where there are no employee representatives in the company): an external person registered on a departmental list

The person assisting cannot 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).

Assistance for the Employer

The employer may be represented by a staff member of the company authorised to conduct the interview (HR director, line manager, site manager). 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 people from within the company, provided this presence does not create a situation of intimidation for the employee.

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: a covert recording is an unfair practice
Involving an external third party: only staff members may assist the employer
Holding the interview on a non-business day: the interview must take place on a working day

FAQ – The Pre-Dismissal Interview

Must the employer draw up minutes of the pre-dismissal interview?

No statutory provision requires minutes to be drawn up. However, it is strongly recommended to record the exchanges in writing to establish 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 statutory time limits, provided the notice requirements have been complied with.

Can the pre-dismissal interview be postponed?

Yes, either the employer or the employee may request a postponement. If the employer postpones, it must send a new notice while complying with the 5-business-day period.

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

The Legal Framework of Dismissal: Key Principles Recap

Dismissal is strictly governed by the French Labour Code. The employer must follow 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 on personal grounds be justified by a real and serious cause, i.e. an objective, accurate and sufficiently serious ground.

The procedure necessarily includes:

The notice convening a pre-dismissal interview (Article L.1232-2): registered letter or in-person delivery, with a minimum period of 5 business 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 business 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 reiterated that insufficient reasoning in the dismissal letter does not deprive the dismissal of real and serious cause but entitles the employee to compensation that may not exceed one month’s salary. This solution is in line with Ordinance No. 2017-1387 of 22 September 2017.

For further detail on this topic, see our complete guide to dismissal.

Severance Entitlements of the Dismissed Employee

Subject to meeting the length-of-service conditions, every dismissed employee is entitled to several forms of compensation:

The statutory severance indemnity (indemnité légale de licenciement) (Articles L.1234-9 and R.1234-1 to R.1234-4 of the French Labour Code): one-quarter of a month’s salary per year of service for the first 10 years, then one-third of a month beyond that. The minimum length of service required is 8 continuous months
The compensatory indemnity in lieu of notice (indemnité compensatrice de préavis): unless the employer waives the notice period (in which case it remains payable) or in cases of gross or wilful misconduct
The compensatory indemnity for paid leave (indemnité compensatrice de congés payés): for days accrued but not taken

In the event of dismissal without real and serious cause, the employee may claim damages, the amount of which is capped by the scale set out in Article L.1235-3 of the French Labour Code (the “Macron” scale). 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 that this scale complies with international conventions in its rulings of 11 May 2022, Nos. 21-14.490 and 21-15.247, holding that it did not contravene Article 10 of ILO Convention No. 158 or Article 24 of the European Social Charter.

Employers should also check whether the applicable collective bargaining agreement provides more favourable terms regarding severance indemnity.

Practical Checklist: Securing a Dismissal

Here are the key points employers should watch:

✅ Verify that the ground relied upon does constitute a real and serious cause (or gross/wilful misconduct as the case may be)
✅ Gather supporting evidence before initiating the procedure (witness statements, warning letters, appraisals, etc.)
✅ Strictly comply with the notice periods (minimum of 5 business days)
✅ State in the notice the employee’s right to assistance (by an employee representative or, in the absence of a CSE, by an external adviser)
✅ Draft the dismissal letter with precise and materially verifiable grounds
✅ Comply with the notification time limits (minimum of 2 business days; maximum of 1 month for disciplinary dismissals)
✅ 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
✅ Inform the employee about the portability of provident and health insurance cover (Article L.911-8 of the French Social Security Code)

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