Legal Severance Pay Calculator
Estimate the statutory minimum severance indemnity (indemnité légale de licenciement) under French law, based on articles L.1234-9 and R.1234-2 of the French Labour Code. This does not calculate the conventional indemnity (indemnité conventionnelle), which may be higher depending on your applicable collective bargaining agreement.
Estimated Legal Minimum Severance (indemnité légale)
Calculation Breakdown
Important Notice
This calculator computes the statutory legal minimum severance indemnity (indemnité légale de licenciement) only. It does not compute the conventional indemnity (indemnité conventionnelle de licenciement), which is set by your applicable collective bargaining agreement (convention collective) and is often more generous. French law requires the employer to pay whichever is higher. This calculator also excludes notice period pay (indemnité compensatrice de préavis) and accrued holiday pay. For a complete assessment including your CCN, contact our team.
How is the Legal Severance Pay Calculated?
Under French law (articles L.1234-9 and R.1234-2 of the Code du travail), the legal minimum severance indemnity (indemnité légale) is calculated as follows:
- 1/4 of monthly salary per year of service for the first 10 years
- 1/3 of monthly salary per year of service beyond 10 years
The reference salary is the higher of: the average of the last 12 months, or 1/3 of the last 3 months (including prorated annual bonuses). A minimum of 8 months of seniority is required.
Legal vs. Conventional Severance: What's the Difference?
French employment law provides two separate severance frameworks:
- Legal indemnity (indemnité légale) — the statutory minimum set by the Labour Code, applicable to all employees. This is what this calculator computes.
- Conventional indemnity (indemnité conventionnelle) — a higher amount provided by many collective bargaining agreements (conventions collectives). The formula varies by industry and often provides significantly more generous terms (e.g. 1/3 per year from year 1, or special bonuses for long seniority).
The employer must always pay whichever is higher. To determine your conventional indemnity, you need to identify the applicable CCN (by IDCC code). Contact us or use DAIRIA AI to find out which convention collective applies to your company.
Need Expert Advice?
Every situation is unique. Get personalized guidance from our French employment law specialists.