France: In Case of Sick Leave, it is Not Necessary for the Company to Send an Employee a New Invitation to their Pre-dismissal Hearing
On 21st May 2025, the French Supreme Court ruled that if the date of a pre-dismissal hearing has had to be postponed due to the fact that the employee concerned was on sick leave, the company does not have to issue a new invitation nor respect again the 5-day time period between the sending of the invitation and the holding of the hearing. The company can inform the employee of the new date and time by “any means.”
When dismissing an employee in France, the general rule is that the employee must be officially summoned to a pre-dismissal hearing. They can choose to be accompanied to this hearing, for example, by a fellow staff member. The aim of this hearing is to inform the employee of the envisaged grounds of termination so that they can respond before a decision is made by the company. To allow the employee time to prepare, they must be officially invited at least 5 days before. Caselaw had already stated that the company did not have issue another official invitation when said hearing was postponed at the employee’s request. It has, therefore, extended this solution to the case where the company was obliged to postpone the hearing due to the employee being on sick leave at the date originally set for the hearing.
Key Action Points for Human Resources and In-House Counsel
Ensure you strictly follow the legal procedure when carrying out a dismissal.
