French Conventional Termination 2026: Full Procedure, Severance Calculation and DREETS Approval

Updated 25 May 2026 — Reviewed by Samuel Hayot, chartered accountant (expert-comptable), OEC Paris Île-de-France.

French conventional termination (rupture conventionnelle) is the standard way for an employer and an employee on a permanent contract (CDI) to end the employment relationship by mutual agreement. It is neither a dismissal nor a resignation: it is a distinct, legally protected procedure governed by Articles L1237-11 et seq. of the French Labour Code.

Direct answer: the procedure has five non-compressible steps — preliminary discussion, formal interview, signed agreement, a 15-calendar-day withdrawal period, and a 15-working-day administrative approval by the DREETS. Shortcut any step and the approval will be refused or the agreement voided.

British HR practice often assumes that a "mutual agreement" document and a settlement sum are sufficient to close an employment relationship. In France, that approach fails. The rupture conventionnelle is a judicial-grade procedure: the administration actively reviews the file, the minimum severance is non-negotiable, and the employee can challenge the agreement before the Conseil de prud'hommes (employment tribunal) for up to 12 months after approval. The contractual freedom that UK settlement agreements rely on does not apply in the same way.

The practical implication: every French mutual termination should follow the statutory process precisely, and the signed Cerfa form must reach the DREETS only after the 15-day cooling-off period has fully elapsed.

The law imposes no specific form to open discussions. However, from the moment the subject is raised, both parties should document the exchange: date, initiator, topics covered. An undocumented verbal exchange protects no one if the employee later claims they were pressured.

In practice, the most fragile files are those where termination was first proposed verbally during an annual review with no written follow-up. If the employee contests consent, there is nothing to rely on.

At least one formal interview must be held (Art. L1237-12 Labour Code). Both parties may be assisted:

• the employee: by a staff representative or, where none exists, by a conseiller du salarié from the prefectoral list;
• the employer: by a company employee or, if the company has staff representatives, by a member of an employers' organisation.

The interview must genuinely address three points: the reasons for the proposed termination, the financial terms and the feasible end date. A brief written note of the interview is strongly recommended.

The agreement is drawn up on the official Cerfa form available at formulaires.service-public.fr. It must state:

• full identity of both parties;
• the agreed severance amount (not below the legal minimum);
• the planned termination date (which must be after DREETS approval);
• the date of signature.

One copy is handed to the employee on the day of signing. This handover must be traceable.

This is the step most frequently executed incorrectly.

Legal rule (Art. L1237-13 Labour Code): from the day after signing, each party has 15 calendar days to withdraw. The count includes weekends and public holidays. Withdrawal must be notified by any means that proves the date of receipt.

Counting from the day of signature rather than the following day is the most common calendar error. It shortens the period by one day and causes the DREETS to return the file.

The complete Cerfa file is submitted to the territorially competent DREETS (or via the TéléRC online portal). The administration has 15 working days to review. It checks:

• that consent was free and informed;
• that the procedure was followed;
• that the severance is not below the legal minimum;
• that no fraud is being committed against the employee's rights.

Silence after 15 working days constitutes implied approval — but only if the file is complete. An incomplete file resets the clock.

Total realistic duration: 6 to 8 weeks from first interview to effective termination.

The severance cannot be less than the statutory redundancy payment (indemnité légale de licenciement) under Article R1234-2 of the Labour Code.

Statutory minimum:

The reference salary is the higher of the average monthly gross salary over the last 12 months or the average over the last 3 months (with variable elements prorated annually).

Worked example: 8 years' seniority, salary €3,500/month#

Employee joined on 1 June 2018. Effective termination: 1 June 2026. Seniority: 8 complete years. Reference salary: €3,500 gross/month.

Calculation: 8 × ¼ × €3,500 = €7,000 gross minimum.

Parties may agree a higher amount. A figure modestly above the minimum reduces the risk of a later challenge to the voluntariness of consent.

Under Article 80 duodecies of the French Tax Code (CGI):

• The severance is exempt from income tax up to the higher of: twice the previous year's gross annual salary or 50% of the total payment (subject to a statutory cap — verify the current ceiling).
• The same fraction is exempt from social security contributions.
• CSG/CRDS: partially exempt — only the income-tax-exempt fraction is also exempt from CSG/CRDS, within a ceiling of twice the annual social security ceiling (PASS). The excess is subject to CSG at 9.2% and CRDS at 0.5% (rates to verify).

Critical point for retirement-eligible employees: an employee who is entitled to draw a full state pension at the time of termination loses all exemptions. The entire severance is taxed as ordinary income. This is regularly overlooked in negotiations.

The employee may challenge the agreement before the Conseil de prud'hommes within 12 months of approval (Art. L1237-14 Labour Code). Grounds: coercion, vice of consent, procedural irregularity, or severance below the legal minimum. If requalified as dismissal without real and serious cause, the employer faces the barème Macron damages, notice pay and arrears. For a small employer, the total cost can be two to three times the cost of a correctly executed procedure.

• Completed and signed Cerfa 14598*01 (two originals)
• Proof of handover of the employee's copy on signing date
• Detailed severance calculation showing the reference salary used
• Proof of seniority (including any prior fixed-term periods)
• Chronology of interviews (dates, attendees, topics)
• Proof of dispatch to DREETS (receipt or TéléRC acknowledgement)

For further reading on the French payroll treatment of bonuses and severance components, see our article on whether bonuses are taxable. For directors considering termination before retirement, our analysis of cumul emploi-retraite 2026 is directly relevant.

This article is for information only. It does not replace a case-specific review of your documents, situation and applicable law. Seek professional advice before acting.

This English section is written for international readers who need to apply the French guidance to a real management decision. The key point for the legal procedure of a French rupture conventionnelle (mutual termination) is not to memorise every technical rule, but to connect the rule to documents, deadlines, cash impact and governance. For employers, HR managers and finance directors structuring a mutually agreed separation in France, the right approach is to identify the decision to be made, collect reliable evidence, and only then choose the accounting, tax, payroll or legal treatment.

The practical decision is which formal steps, deadlines and documents are required to secure the homologation by the DREETS. That decision should be documented before the year-end close, financing discussion, payroll run, transaction signing or tax filing concerned by the topic. When the matter is material, the file should include who decided, which assumptions were used, and which professional advice was obtained.

Evidence to keep#

• interview minutes;
• signed agreement;
• DREETS homologation request;
• exit checklist;
• payroll exit slip;

Skipping the cooling-off period or omitting a mandatory step invalidates the rupture conventionnelle and exposes the employer to reinstatement claims. A clean file also helps the company answer questions from banks, investors, auditors, tax authorities, employees or buyers. It is usually cheaper to prepare that evidence during the process than to reconstruct it after a dispute, audit or urgent financing request.

Management checklist#

Before acting, management should run a short checklist. First, confirm that the entity, period and perimeter are correct. Second, compare the accounting treatment with the tax, payroll or legal consequence. Third, quantify the cash effect, because a technically valid option may still be unsuitable if it creates a short-term liquidity issue. Fourth, make sure the decision can be explained in plain English to a shareholder, lender, employee or buyer who is not familiar with French terminology.

For French subsidiaries of foreign groups, translation is also a control topic. A term that sounds familiar in English may not have the same legal meaning in France. The safer method is to keep the French source wording in the working file, then add a short English management note explaining the decision, the financial effect and the residual risk.

How Hayot Expertise would frame the work#

In a professional review, the starting point is the business objective. Is the company trying to reduce risk, close the accounts, prepare a filing, obtain financing, retain employees, sell a business or improve reporting? Once the objective is clear, the technical analysis becomes more useful because it is attached to a concrete decision. Hayot Expertise would generally separate the work into three layers: compliance, numbers and management judgement.

The compliance layer answers whether a rule applies and which documents are required. The numbers layer measures the effect on profit, tax, payroll, cash, equity, valuation or working capital. The management layer decides whether the option is consistent with the company's strategy and risk appetite. This separation avoids a common mistake: treating a French technical rule as if it were only an administrative formality.

A fuller decision framework#

For a director who does not work daily with French accounting and tax rules, the safest framework is sequential. Start with the legal form and tax regime of the business. Then identify the income stream, expense, asset, employee benefit, transaction or reporting obligation concerned. Then test the accounting treatment, the tax treatment and the cash effect separately. Only after those three views are consistent should the company automate the process in accounting software or payroll.

This matters because French compliance is document-heavy. A bank feed, invoice, contract, payroll notice or tax form may each be correct on its own, while the overall file remains inconsistent. For example, the accounting entry may not match the tax return, the VAT position may not match the invoice wording, or the management report may not match the board minutes. English-speaking directors should therefore ask for a short reconciliation note whenever the amount is significant.

Questions to ask before closing the file#

• What is the exact French rule or accounting principle being applied?
• Which document proves the amount, date, counterparty and business purpose?
• Does the treatment affect VAT, corporate tax, income tax, payroll or social contributions?
• Is the cash impact immediate, deferred or only visible at sale, audit or financing?
• Who inside the company owns the update next year?

Why this improves SEO and real usefulness#

For an English reader, the value of this article is not a literal translation of the French version. It is the bridge between French terminology and management action. The content should help the reader understand what to verify, what to ask the accountant, and where the risk may sit in the financial statements or cash forecast. That is also the reason the English version keeps the French concepts visible while explaining them in operational language.

When to ask for help#

Professional input is useful when the topic changes the tax result, payroll cost, legal position, financing capacity, valuation or shareholder relationship. It is also useful when the company is growing quickly and the same decision will repeat every month. A small error in a one-off file is inconvenient; the same error embedded in a recurring workflow becomes expensive.