PSE in 2026: role of the CSE chartered accountant, legal timeline and fees

Updated 12 May 2026 — When a French employer launches a PSE (mass redundancy plan / Plan de Sauvegarde de l'Emploi), the CSE (Social and Economic Committee) has a statutory right to be assisted by a chartered accountant funded 100% by the employer (Article L2315-92 of the French Labour Code). This guide details the 6 missions of the expert, the 6-step procedural calendar, 2026 fee ranges, and a real case study where 44% of initially threatened jobs were preserved through negotiation.

<div class="featured-snippet"> A <strong>PSE</strong> (mass redundancy plan / Plan de Sauvegarde de l'Emploi) is mandatory as soon as <strong>10 economic dismissals over 30 days</strong> are contemplated in a company with <strong>50 or more employees</strong>. The CSE may appoint a <strong>chartered accountant</strong> (Article L2315-92 of the French Labour Code) funded <strong>100% by the employer</strong> to review the economic justification, the dismissal order, the reclassification plan, and to prepare the negotiation. 2026 fees: 25,000 to 150,000 EUR HT depending on complexity. Hayot Expertise has supported 50+ PSE since 2014, with 44% of initially threatened jobs ultimately preserved through negotiation in our most representative recent case. </div>

A PSE (Plan de Sauvegarde de l'Emploi / mass redundancy plan) is a statutory mechanism that becomes mandatory as soon as a company with 50 or more employees contemplates dismissing at least 10 employees on economic grounds over a 30-day period. The PSE pursues two goals: avoiding dismissals (through internal redeployment, geographic mobility, training) and limiting the number of dismissals through incentive measures (voluntary departures, early retirements). The content of the PSE is set out in Articles L1233-61 to L1233-64 of the French Labour Code. The project must be reviewed by the CSE and either validated or approved by the DRIEETS (the regional labour authority, formerly DIRECCTE/DREETS). Without validation or approval, the PSE is void and the dismissals may be annulled by a court.

The CSE is automatically consulted as soon as a PSE project is announced by the employer (Article L1233-30 of the French Labour Code). It then has a statutory right to appoint a chartered accountant (Article L2315-92) funded 100% by the employer. The plenary vote must take place within the first 15 days of the consultation, by a majority of titular members. The appointment is rarely challenged by the employer (case law is strongly favourable to the CSE), but the procedure must be followed meticulously: agenda, proper convening, engagement letter, employer notification by recorded delivery. Our firm, having supported 50+ PSE since 2014, recommends appointing the expert within the first 5 days after the announcement to save valuable time on document access.

The CSE's chartered accountant intervenes on six complementary axes, framed by the French Labour Code and by the case law of the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation, Chambre sociale, 2024-2025).

1. Analyse the economic justification of the redundancy project#

The expert examines the reality of the economic difficulties invoked by the employer (drop in revenue, margin deterioration, loss of contracts, technological change). Consistency is checked against the consolidated group accounts, intra-group flows and 18-24 month forecasts. In 2024-2025, around 30% of PSEs could have been avoided or reduced had the economic justification been challenged early by an expert.

2. Verify the professional categories and the dismissal order#

The employer defines the professional categories affected and the selection criteria (seniority, family responsibilities, disabled or older workers, professional skills). The expert checks that these categories are not defined in a discriminatory or excessively narrow way, and that the dismissal order is applied in good faith.

3. Audit the reclassification plan and internal mobility#

The reclassification plan must list the positions available within the company and the group, in France and abroad. The expert checks the exhaustiveness of the plan, the quality of the offers (contract duration, pay, location, qualification) and the training effort proposed. An insufficient reclassification plan can lead to annulment of the PSE.

4. Assess the supra-legal severance proposed#

The PSE may provide for supra-legal severance (above the statutory minimum of 1/4 of a month per year of seniority). The expert quantifies the total cost for the company, benchmarks against sector practice, and prepares arguments to negotiate more generous severance (often 2 to 4 months per year of seniority in PSEs of listed groups).

5. Prepare the CSE's arguments for negotiation#

The expert assists elected members during negotiation meetings: preparation of technical questions to the employer, alternative scenarios (voluntary departures, early retirements, mobility), financial impact modelling of each proposal. This is the phase of highest added value.

6. Secure any potential interim relief before the tribunal judiciaire#

In the event of procedural failure or a manifestly insufficient plan, the expert prepares the interim relief proceedings (référé) technically before the tribunal judiciaire (civil court). The judge can suspend the PSE and force the employer to restart the consultation, delaying the project by 2 to 4 additional months.

Context 2024: industrial group of 1,200 employees, PSE announced in March with 320 planned dismissals over 9 months due to a downturn in the European market. Hayot Expertise was appointed by the central CSE at D+5. The analysis revealed: 1) the parent company's financial position remained robust (stable 2024 result), 2) undocumented transfer flows to a Romanian subsidiary totalling 18 M EUR over 3 years, 3) an initially incomplete reclassification plan (47 positions offered against 320 planned dismissals). After 4 negotiation rounds supported by the expert: reduction from 320 to 180 dry dismissals + 140 internal mobilities (company-funded Bachelor-level training) + 24-month pay continuation for accepted mobilities. Result: 44% of initially threatened jobs preserved, expertise fees (80,000 EUR HT) entirely borne by the employer, and the CSE's bookkeeping mandate subsequently entrusted to Hayot Expertise for 4 years.

Five recurring mistakes by CSE elected members during a PSE: 1) appointing the expert too late (beyond D+15) — losing the time advantage on document access, especially when the employer's communications are voluntarily incomplete during the first weeks; 2) accepting the employer's initial plan without challenge — the entire added value of the expert lies in post-report negotiation, where each line of the reclassification plan and each criterion of the dismissal order can be improved; 3) failing to request intra-group documents — the most useful negotiation levers are usually buried in flows between entities, in management fees, royalties or cash pooling that may reduce the apparent profitability of the French entity; 4) focusing exclusively on severance at the expense of reclassification — saving 40 jobs is worth more than 5,000 EUR of additional severance per employee, both economically and in terms of social acceptability; 5) failing to consider interim relief proceedings when the plan is manifestly insufficient — it is the ultimate lever that forces the employer to a better PSE and significantly improves the final outcome of the negotiation.

1. Proven PSE experience: minimum 10 PSEs supported in the last 5 years, ideally across several sectors and including at least one multi-site PSE with a foreign parent company.
2. Independence: no ties with the employer (not the company's statutory auditor or chartered accountant, and no recent advisory engagement on behalf of management).
3. Multidisciplinary team: chartered accountants + employment lawyers + ideally a statutory auditor, so that every dimension of the project (financial, social, governance) is covered.
4. Responsiveness: ability to start within 48 hours and mobilise a dedicated team on site within the first week of the engagement.
5. Case law reputation: references to CSE-favourable rulings the firm contributed to, and a track record of negotiated outcomes rather than mere expert reports filed in a drawer.

• Statutory (L2315-78) vs free (L2315-81) CSE expert audit — A PSE falls under statutory expertise, financed 100% by the employer.
• CSE accounting in 2026: Pennylane and ANC 2015-01 — Bookkeeping of the CSE downstream from the PSE.
• Our offering: chartered accountant specialised in CSE — 50+ CSEs supported, including Auchan Retail France.
• Legal advisory Paris: PSE support — Legal dimension of the PSE.

Article written and reviewed by Samuel Hayot, chartered accountant registered with the Ordre des Experts-Comptables of Paris Île-de-France and statutory auditor (commissaire aux comptes, CRCC). Cabinet Hayot Expertise has supported more than 50 PSEs since 2014, from single-site PSE (15 employees) to multi-site international PSE (1,200 employees, 320 initially planned dismissals).

Sources: Légifrance L2315-92, L1233-30, L1233-61 to L1233-64, French Ministry of Labour — PSE guide, case law of the Cour de cassation, Chambre sociale, 2024-2025. This analysis is up to date as of 12 May 2026. For your situation: 06 51 47 43 92.