Notice Requirement
Labour law requires a termination notice before terminating the services of an employee. A contract of employment may be terminated at any time by dismissal (by the employer), or resignation (by the worker), or by mutual agreement of both parties, or at the discretion of the competent court (in case of force majeure). A fixed-term contract terminates at the end of its term or by cancellation by either of the parties, or in cases of gross negligence, or at the discretion of the competent court.
An indefinite term contract may be terminated by either party by giving a written notice to the other or payment in lieu thereof. The notice period depends on the length of service and varies by worker category. During the notice period, the employer must provide the worker with the date of termination notification and a provisional certificate of employment. An indefinite term contract may be terminated without prior notice in case of gross negligence or at the discretion of the competent court.
If an employer fails to provide the required notice, they must pay the worker the wages and benefits that would have been earned during the notice period. Workers may also request that the employer waive all or part of the notice period, in which case the employer may choose to comply.
The length of the notice period varies according to the length of service in the enterprise and the professional category of the worker. For less than 8 days of service, it ranges from 1 day (Group 1) to 5 days (Group 5); for less than 3 months, it is between 3 days and 1 month; for less than 1 year, it spans from 8 days to 3 months; for more than 1 year, it ranges from 10 days to 4 months; for over 3 years, an additional 2 days are added for each year of service; and for over 5 years, it extends from 1 month (Group 1) to 6 months (Group 5).
For fixed-term and probationary contracts, formal notice is generally not required unless explicitly provided in the contract. For indefinite-term contracts, the exact notice period is determined by the government Decree, which has yet to be located.
Under Decree n°2007-009, the notice period starts on the day the other party receives written notification; if the party who must give notice cannot write, it is sufficient to give notice before witnesses. If the party entitled to receive notice refuses the letter, posting the notice on the staff noticeboard counts as valid notification.
During the notice period, the worker is entitled to one (1) day per week of free time to look for work, taken either as a full day or split into hours, at the worker’s choice. The party who initiates termination may be released from performing notice by paying an indemnity equal to the remuneration immediately and benefits the worker would have received during the statutory notice period, excluding expense reimbursements; this indemnity is calculated on the basis of the average of the last two pays, taking account of the cash value of benefits in kind where applicable.
Source: §35–38, of the Labour Code, Law No. 2024-014; Decree No. 2007-009 determining the conditions and duration of the notice period for termination of an open-ended employment contract
Severance Pay
The Labour Code provides for severance/redundancy pay only in the case of economic dismissals. A worker dismissed for economic reasons is entitled to severance payment amounting to 10 days' wages for each completed year of service. Law also defines a maximum limit to the severance payment, which is 6 months, i.e., a worker can at most get 6 months' wages as a severance payment.
Source: §48 of the Labour Code, Law No. 2024-014
