You live in London, New York, Dubai or Singapore, and one of your French employees has just said the words every foreign founder both hopes for and dreads: let us agree on my departure. No misconduct to prove, no redundancy plan to fund, no resignation letter to negotiate. The French answer to this situation is the rupture conventionnelle, the mutual separation agreement that ends an open-ended contract by consent and, once approved by the administration, gives the employee unemployment benefits while giving the employer a clean, dated break. It is the most used agreed-exit tool in France, and for a founder managing from abroad it looks deceptively simple: one meeting, one form, one signature.<\/p>\n
The simplicity is a trap for companies run from outside France. The agreement is valid only if the severance reaches a statutory floor computed from real wages and seniority, only if a 15-day withdrawal period is respected to the calendar day, and only if the DREETS, the regional directorate for employment, approves the file or lets its 15-working-day review period expire without objection. Miss the floor by a few euros and the administration refuses approval. Date the departure one day early and the whole agreement can be reclassified as a dismissal without real and serious cause, with back pay and damages set by the labour court. This guide explains, in English and with the exact French legal references, how to calculate the agreed severance, how to sign and file a file that survives review, how the money is taxed and declared, and how each side can still challenge the deal from abroad, including through the Paris office that handles your file when the employee works in Ile-de-France, the Paris region.<\/p>\n
French law starts with a principle that surprises founders used to at-will employment: the employer and the employee can jointly agree the conditions of the termination of the employment contract between them, the mutual separation cannot be imposed by either side, and it results from an agreement signed by both parties to the contract, subject to protective rules designed to guarantee free consent. Article L. 1237-11 of the Labour Code<\/a> states this, word for word: “L’employeur et le salari\u00e9 peuvent convenir en commun des conditions de la rupture du contrat de travail qui les lie. La rupture conventionnelle, exclusive du licenciement ou de la d\u00e9mission, ne peut \u00eatre impos\u00e9e par l’une ou l’autre des parties. Elle r\u00e9sulte d’une convention sign\u00e9e par les parties au contrat. Elle est soumise aux dispositions de la pr\u00e9sente section destin\u00e9es \u00e0 garantir la libert\u00e9 du consentement des parties.” In practice this means the negotiation is free on everything above the legal minimum, and strictly controlled on the minimum itself. You can always pay more than the floor to buy a fast, peaceful exit. You can never pay less, and the administration checks the arithmetic before approving anything.<\/p>\n The floor is set by Article L. 1237-13 of the Labour Code<\/a>, which provides, word for word: “La convention de rupture d\u00e9finit les conditions de celle-ci, notamment le montant de l’indemnit\u00e9 sp\u00e9cifique de rupture conventionnelle qui ne peut pas \u00eatre inf\u00e9rieur \u00e0 celui de l’indemnit\u00e9 pr\u00e9vue \u00e0 l’article L. 1234-9 . Elle fixe la date de rupture du contrat de travail, qui ne peut intervenir avant le lendemain du jour de l’homologation. A compter de la date de sa signature par les deux parties, chacune d’entre elles dispose d’un d\u00e9lai de quinze jours calendaires pour exercer son droit de r\u00e9tractation. Ce droit est exerc\u00e9 sous la forme d’une lettre adress\u00e9e par tout moyen attestant de sa date de r\u00e9ception par l’autre partie.” Three operative rules sit in that single paragraph, and foreign-run files fail on each of them: the severance cannot sit below the statutory dismissal severance, the departure date cannot fall before the day after approval, and each side holds a 15-calendar-day withdrawal right exercised by a letter sent by any means proving its date of receipt. Read the paragraph twice before signing anything, because the rest of the procedure only enforces what it says.<\/p>\n The reference severance of Article L. 1234-9 of the Labour Code<\/a> belongs to employees on open-ended contracts with at least 8 months of uninterrupted service with the same employer, except in cases of serious misconduct, and its rate and calculation method are set by regulation. The regulation is Article R. 1234-1 of the Labour Code<\/a>, which states, word for word: “L’indemnit\u00e9 de licenciement pr\u00e9vue \u00e0 l’article L. 1234-9 ne peut \u00eatre inf\u00e9rieure \u00e0 une somme calcul\u00e9e par ann\u00e9e de service dans l’entreprise et tenant compte des mois de service accomplis au-del\u00e0 des ann\u00e9es pleines. En cas d’ann\u00e9e incompl\u00e8te, l’indemnit\u00e9 est calcul\u00e9e proportionnellement au nombre de mois complets.” The scale itself is in Article R. 1234-2 of the Labour Code<\/a>, word for word: “L’indemnit\u00e9 de licenciement ne peut \u00eatre inf\u00e9rieure aux montants suivants : 1\u00b0 Un quart de mois de salaire par ann\u00e9e d’anciennet\u00e9 pour les ann\u00e9es jusqu’\u00e0 dix ans ; 2\u00b0 Un tiers de mois de salaire par ann\u00e9e d’anciennet\u00e9 pour les ann\u00e9es \u00e0 partir de dix ans.” The Court of Cassation confirmed that this regulatory scale is exactly how the minimum specific severance is computed, holding in its published judgment of 30 September 2020, appeal No. 19-15.675, that the minimum under Article L. 1237-13 is the amount of Article L. 1234-9 as computed by Articles R. 1234-1 and R. 1234-2, a decision founders can retrieve on the official L\u00e9gifrance case-law database at L\u00e9gifrance, appeal No. 19-15.675<\/a>.<\/p>\n Run the numbers on a realistic Paris case before negotiating. Take a non-executive employee with 5 years of service earning 4,000 euros gross per month, where the reference salary, usually the most favourable average of the last 3 or 12 months including bonuses pro rata, also comes out at 4,000 euros. The statutory floor is 5 years times one quarter of a month, or 1.25 months, which is 5,000 euros. With 5 years and 7 full extra months, the seven months add 7 twelfths of a quarter-month, about 583 euros, for a floor near 5,583 euros. With 12 years of service the first 10 years give 2.5 months and the last 2 years give two thirds of a month, roughly 3.17 months of salary. Then check the applicable collective agreement, the convention collective, because many Paris-sector agreements, Syntec for tech and consulting, commerce, advertising, set a higher scale, often one third of a month per year from the start, and the administration applies whichever floor is higher, statutory or contractual. An employee with under 8 months of service has no statutory floor, but the file still needs a stated amount, zero is accepted in theory and refused in spirit, and paying a goodwill sum avoids both a refusal and a later consent dispute. Founders choosing between company forms before hiring will recognise the same logic as in our pillar guide for foreign founders on choosing between a SAS, a SARL, a branch or a subsidiary in France<\/a>: the vehicle changes who signs, never the labour-law arithmetic that follows.<\/p>\n Two calculation traps catch foreign employers specifically. First, the reference salary is not the last payslip. Variable pay, 13th month, overtime premiums and performance bonuses count, each pro rated over their accrual period, and part-time years count in proportion to hours worked, so a founder who multiplies the current monthly gross by seniority understates or overstates the floor and invites either a refusal or an overpayment. Second, a file refused once for an insufficient amount is not fixed by quietly initialling a higher figure. After an administrative refusal based on a below-floor severance, the parties in a 2018 case signed a second agreement raising the amount while keeping the same withdrawal-expiry date, and the dispute over whether a fresh withdrawal period ran ended before the Court of Cassation, which rejected the employer’s appeal on 13 June 2018, appeal No. 16-24.830, retrievable at L\u00e9gifrance, appeal No. 16-24.830<\/a>. The operational lesson is blunt: when the amount changes after a refusal, restart the full timetable with a new meeting record and a new 15-day period rather than recycling the old dates. A second signature costs two weeks. A recycled date can cost the whole agreement.<\/p>\n The procedure opens with one or more meetings at which the principle of the separation is agreed, and the employee may be assisted either by a person of their choice from inside the company, a union office-holder, a staff-representative member or any other employee, or, where the company has no staff representation, by an outside staff adviser chosen from an official list drawn up by the administration. Article L. 1237-12 of the Labour Code<\/a> provides this in full, word for word: “Les parties au contrat conviennent du principe d’une rupture conventionnelle lors d’un ou plusieurs entretiens au cours desquels le salari\u00e9 peut se faire assister : 1\u00b0 Soit par une personne de son choix appartenant au personnel de l’entreprise, qu’il s’agisse d’un salari\u00e9 titulaire d’un mandat syndical ou d’un salari\u00e9 membre d’une institution repr\u00e9sentative du personnel ou tout autre salari\u00e9 ; 2\u00b0 Soit, en l’absence d’institution repr\u00e9sentative du personnel dans l’entreprise, par un conseiller du salari\u00e9 choisi sur une liste dress\u00e9e par l’autorit\u00e9 administrative. Lors du ou des entretiens, l’employeur a la facult\u00e9 de se faire assister quand le salari\u00e9 en fait lui-m\u00eame usage. Le salari\u00e9 en informe l’employeur auparavant ; si l’employeur souhaite \u00e9galement se faire assister, il en informe \u00e0 son tour le salari\u00e9. L’employeur peut se faire assister par une personne de son choix appartenant au personnel de l’entreprise ou, dans les entreprises de moins de cinquante salari\u00e9s, par une personne appartenant \u00e0 son organisation syndicale d’employeurs ou par un autre employeur relevant de la m\u00eame branche.” For a founder living abroad, the mirror rule matters most: the employer may be assisted only if the employee uses assistance themselves, so ask in writing before the meeting whether the employee will come assisted, keep the reply, and if you attend by video link or through a mandated manager in France, record the mandate and the attendance in the meeting minutes. Small foreign subsidiaries almost always fall under 50 staff, which opens the right to bring an employers-organisation adviser or another employer from the same sector, a useful option when no manager is available in France.<\/p>\n Signature opens the 15-calendar-day withdrawal period, and calendar means calendar: weekends and public holidays count, and the period runs from the day after the signature date shown on the agreement. Each side can withdraw by letter sent by any means proving its date of receipt, which from abroad means email with acknowledgment, registered electronic letter, or courier with tracking, never an unwitnessed phone call. Only after this period expires may the most diligent party file for approval with the administration, enclosing a copy of the agreement, on the ministerial model form. Article L. 1237-14 of the Labour Code<\/a> governs this stage, word for word: “A l’issue du d\u00e9lai de r\u00e9tractation, la partie la plus diligente adresse une demande d’homologation \u00e0 l’autorit\u00e9 administrative, avec un exemplaire de la convention de rupture. Un arr\u00eat\u00e9 du ministre charg\u00e9 du travail fixe le mod\u00e8le de cette demande. L’autorit\u00e9 administrative dispose d’un d\u00e9lai d’instruction de quinze jours ouvrables, \u00e0 compter de la r\u00e9ception de la demande, pour s’assurer du respect des conditions pr\u00e9vues \u00e0 la pr\u00e9sente section et de la libert\u00e9 de consentement des parties. A d\u00e9faut de notification dans ce d\u00e9lai, l’homologation est r\u00e9put\u00e9e acquise et l’autorit\u00e9 administrative est dessaisie. La validit\u00e9 de la convention est subordonn\u00e9e \u00e0 son homologation. L’homologation ne peut faire l’objet d’un litige distinct de celui relatif \u00e0 la convention. Tout litige concernant la convention, l’homologation ou le refus d’homologation rel\u00e8ve de la comp\u00e9tence du conseil des prud’hommes, \u00e0 l’exclusion de tout autre recours contentieux ou administratif. Le recours juridictionnel doit \u00eatre form\u00e9, \u00e0 peine d’irrecevabilit\u00e9, avant l’expiration d’un d\u00e9lai de douze mois \u00e0 compter de la date d’homologation de la convention.” Note the shift from calendar days to working days for the review period, the rule that silence for 15 working days equals approval, and the final sentence that will dominate the second half of this guide: any court challenge must be filed within 12 months of approval, on pain of inadmissibility, before the labour court alone.<\/p>\n In practice the filing goes through TeleRC, the online portal for individual mutual-separation approvals, which is mandatory for transmitting the request, and the competent office follows the employee’s workplace, not the founder’s address. When the employee works in Paris or elsewhere in Ile-de-France, the file goes to the DRIEETS, the Ile-de-France regional and interdepartmental directorate, the Paris-region counterpart of the DREETS, and Paris founders should expect the same substantive checks with a heavier caseload and a strict reading of meeting and assistance records. Build the timetable backwards from the target departure date: meeting day, plus signature, plus 15 calendar days of withdrawal, plus filing, plus 15 working days of review, with departure on the day after approval at the earliest. A common from-abroad schedule runs 5 to 7 weeks end to end, and any promise of an earlier exit written into the agreement is void against the approval rule. If the administration refuses approval, the contract simply continues, the employee stays employed and paid, and the parties may either abandon the project or restart cleanly with a new meeting and a new period, as the 2018 case above illustrates. If the employee is a protected employee, a pregnant employee’s protections, a staff representative, a union delegate or a member of the social and economic committee, the CSE, the works-council body mandatory from 11 employees, the approval route does not apply at all: Article L. 1237-15 of the Labour Code<\/a> requires the labour inspector’s authorisation instead, and the contract can end only on the day after that authorisation. Check the protected-status question before the first meeting, because discovering a mandate after filing wastes the entire timetable. Where the separation instead follows a failed trial, a misconduct allegation or a redundancy rationale, the companion procedures differ sharply, and our companion guide on dismissing a French employee on personal grounds from abroad<\/a> maps the notice, severance and litigation route that the mutual path is designed to avoid.<\/p>\n On the agreed departure date the employer must hand over the three end-of-contract documents: the final settlement receipt, the solde de tout compte, itemising salary balance, paid-leave indemnity and the specific severance; the work certificate, the certificat de travail; and the France Travail attestation, the certificate for the public employment operator formerly called Pole emploi, which conditions the employee’s unemployment benefits. The separation carries no notice period, no preavis, unless the parties voluntarily build one into the departure date, which is precisely why founders pay the premium: the employee leaves on a known date with known money, and the company avoids months of tense notice. Accrued but untaken paid leave is paid out as a leave indemnity on top of the severance, calculated at one tenth of gross earnings over the leave reference period or by the salary-maintenance method, whichever is higher, so pull the leave counter before finalising the amount and never present the severance as including the leave balance unless the breakdown says so in figures.<\/p>\nB. The meeting, the 15-day withdrawal window and the DREETS approval: building a file that survives review from abroad<\/h3>\n
II. How the agreed exit ends: money, papers and court challenges without travelling to France<\/h2>\n
A. What the employee walks away with: final settlement, tax and social treatment, and unemployment rights<\/h3>\n