Background information

Introduced in 2002 with the Social Modernisation Law, this compulsory measure is for all employees who are made redundant due to economic circumstances in companies with more than 1,000 employees, including groups of companies with a cumulated number of employees of at least 1,000. There is no condition of age, seniority and number of layoffs for employees to avail off this measure.

The redeployment leave runs at the same time as the notice period, and might last between four and 12 months (the period previously being between four and 9 months). During the leave, the employee may complete periods of work, under fixed-term contracts, during which the leave is suspended.

Content of measure

After a layoff notice is given for economic reasons, employees are given paid leave to avail of individualised training opportunities or a suitable job search programme. The employees cannot use the paid leave to find alternative employment through channels other than the re-employment units (cellule d'accompagnement). These units are staffed by external consultants and trained professionals who provide the redundant employees with guidance, skills assessment, matching and training. The beneficiaries of this measure must also follow the procedure or protocol required by the re-employment units in order to avail of the services on offer.

For the duration of the notice period, employees receive full pay, without being expected to fulfil their contractual duties. If the redeployment leave exceeds the notice period, thereafter the employee receives an allowance of 65% of the last average gross wage based on the last 12 months' remuneration, or 85% of the index-linked minimum growth wage. The employer does not pay social contributions to this amount as it is not considered as a salary; however, some social charges are to be paid, namely the ‘Contribution Sociale Généralisée’ or CSG (0.5%) and the ‘Contribution au Remboursement de la Dette Sociale’ or CRDS (6.2%).

If an employment protection plan is provided, the conditions of the redeployment leave should be outlined in the plan. In any case, the employer must explicitly mention the proposed redeployment leave plan in the redundancy notice.

Use of measure

Large companies with more than 1,000 employees are likely to offer services of good quality to the employees in redeployment leave. In large companies, the redeployment leave scheme is negotiated in the frame of an employment protection plan (plan de sauvegarde de l'emploi - PSE). This means that additional guarantees are often negotiated and offered to the employees; this may include an increase in the length of the leave up to 12 months or over 12 months by keeping the employees longer on the pay-roll before the dismissals are announced. It is also possible to negotiate to maintain 100% of the former salary to avoid any drop of income. It may be also envisaged that the employer continues to pay the social contributions for the compulsory complementary pension scheme on the full salary during the leave to avoid any reduction in the pension.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Employees in standard employment Workers in non-standard forms of employment	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Trade unions Employers' organisations	Employer

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Unknown
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: Unknown

Involvement

Trade unions are involved when they negotiate an employment safeguard plan to improve the legal framework, e.g. by negotiating a longer period or a better coverage of the remuneration.

Views and reactions

Unknown

Sources

• 15 April 2003: Circulaire DGEFP/DRT no 2003-07 du 15 avril 2003 précisant le champ d’application des articles 118 et 119 de la loi de modernisation sociale no 2002-73 du 17 janvier 2002 (travail-emploi.gouv.fr)
• 19 May 2021: Décret n° 2021-626 du 19 mai 2021 relatif au congé de reclassement (www.legifrance.gouv.fr)
• 14 December 2021: Code du travail - Sous-section 3 Congé de reclassement. (Articles L1233-71 à L1233-76) - Légifrance.pdf (www.legifrance.gouv.fr)
• 20 December 2021: Congé de reclassement (travail-emploi.gouv.fr)