France: Employee’s Refusal to Sign Pre‑Dismissal Meeting Invitation Does Not Invalidate Dismissal

Under French law, employees must be invited to a pre-dismissal meeting. This can be done via registered mail or by hand delivering an invitation against receipt. The fact that an employee refuses to acknowledge receipt of the hand-delivered invitation cannot give rise to damages.

An employee refused to acknowledged receipt in writing of his pre-dismissal meeting invitation but then attended such meeting and was dismissed.

He then sought damages on the grounds that his dismissal was unfair namely as the company did not comply with the procedure set out in Article L1232-2 of the French Labour Code because his pre-dismissal meeting invitation was not signed in acknowledgment of receipt.

On 21 January 2026, the French Supreme Court ruled that requiring the pre‑dismissal meeting invitation to be signed upon receipt served only to prevent disputes about the date of the summons. Since the employee did not contest being summoned and was able to attend the meeting, there was sufficient corroborating evidence that the summons had been properly delivered. The absence of a signed acknowledgement receipt did not impact the validity of the dismissal.

Key Action Points for Human Resources and In-House Counsel

If possible, always send the pre-dismissal meeting invitation by registered mail if an employee refuses to acknowledge receipt of a hand-delivered invitation.