NewsletterNewsletter No.209 – May 2026
DISMISSAL COMPENSATION: Compensation for dismissal without real and serious cause cannot be combined with compensation for irregular dismissal.
After being dismissed, an employee referred several claims to the employment tribunal (conseil de prud’hommes). The Court of Appeal considered that the dismissal lacked a real and serious cause and that the procedure was irregular. On this basis, the company was ordered to pay the employee compensation for dismissal without real and serious cause and compensation for irregular dismissal. The French Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation) quashed and set aside the judgment on the following grounds: “compensation for failure to comply with the dismissal procedure may not be combined with the compensation granted for dismissal without real and serious cause, regardless of the employee’s length of service and the size of the company. […] Since compensation for dismissal without real and serious cause has been granted, the claim for compensation for an irregular dismissal procedure shall be rejected” (Cass. Soc. 6 May 2026, No. 25-12.673).
TEMPORARY WORK: Obligation for the user company to include the occupational risks of temporary workers into the DUERP (single occupational risk assessment document).
A Social and Economic Committee (CSE) of a temporary employment agency and a trade union initiated legal action against the temporary employment agency. They notably alleged that it had failed to update its DUERP by including the risks to which temporary workers were exposed in a user company. The Cour de Cassation reiterated that responsibility for protecting the health and safety of temporary workers is shared between the user company and the temporary employment agency. The Court specified that “it is up to the user company to identify, in its single occupational risk assessment document, the risks inherent to its activity within the work units to which temporary employees are assigned” (Cass. Soc. 13 May 2026, No. 25-10.127).
MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE: The French minimum wage (SMIC) will be automatically increased on 1 June.
Due to high inflation, and effective from 1 June 2026, the French statutory minimum wage (SMIC) will automatically increase by 2.41%, representing a monthly increase of €34.82. This adjustment will only affect salaries that fall below the SMIC and does not create any legal obligation to increase salaries that are already above this minimum threshold (Official Journal No. 0121 of 24 May 2026).
INTERNATIONAL DRIVING LICENCE: An employee holding a European driving licence is not required to exchange it for a French driving licence to work as a driver in France.
An Italian employee had been hired as a driver by a French company. Upon the expiry of his Italian driving licence and despite its renewal, his employer argued that the employee was required to present a French licence and decided to suspend his employment contract. The employee acknowledged the termination of his contract. The Cour de Cassation ruled that “in the absence of any road traffic offense resulting in a restriction, suspension, withdrawal of driving rights, or loss of points attributed to the individual concerned, the latter was under no obligation to exchange his Italian driving licence for a French driving licence.” The Court concluded that the employer had suspended the contract without valid justification and had ceased to provide him with work, thereby justifying the termination of the contract at the employer’s fault (Cass. Soc. 6 May 2026, No. 25-11.289).
PROTECTED EMPLOYEES : Where a protected employee is dismissed without authorization and is not reinstated due to misconduct, the indemnity in lieu of reinstatement shall only be payable up to the date of the events that prevented reinstatement.
A protected employee was dismissed without prior authorization from the labor inspectorate. He requested reinstatement and the payment of compensation. The Cour de Cassation stated as a reminder that “a protected employee, dismissed without prior authorization, who requests reinstatement during the protection period, is entitled, on the grounds of the disregard of their protective status, to compensation equal to the remuneration they would have received from the date of their dismissal to the date of their reinstatement.” However, the Court specified that when the employee’s own misconduct makes reinstatement impossible, the employee is only entitled, on the grounds of the violation of the protective status, to the remuneration they would have received between the date of their dismissal and the date on which that misconduct prevented their reinstatement (Cass. Soc. 13 May 2026, No. 24-17.951).
FUEL ALLOWANCES: The government increases fuel allowances.
In order to support the economy and the purchasing power of French citizens in the face of the oil crisis, the executive announced an increase in the cap on the fuel allowance paid by employers to their employees. This allowance is increased to 600€ and is exempt from social security contributions and income tax. Furthermore, support for high-mileage drivers is increased by 50 euros and extended by three months. Other sectors such as road transport, fishing, agriculture, and construction also benefit from an extension of the flat-rate aid granted by the State (Official Journal No. 0103 of 2 May 2026).
ANNUAL FIXED-DAY WORKING ARRANGEMENT: The company agreement allowing the use of the fixed-day working arrangement (“forfait annuel en jours”) must enable effective monitoring of working time.
An employee subject to an annual fixed-day working arrangement acknowledged the termination of her employment contract and requested that her annual fixed-day working arrangement be declared null and void. She argued that the company agreement organizing the use of the annual fixed-day working arrangement did not include sufficient guarantees regarding the right to health and rest. First, the Cour de Cassation reiterated that “any fixed-day working arrangement must be provided for by a collective agreement whose provisions guarantee compliance with reasonable working hours and with daily and weekly rest periods.” Second, the Court applied the principle of effectiveness of the measures provided for by the agreement and deemed it perfectly valid: “the provisions of the company agreement ensure a proper distribution of the employee’s workload over time, and thus meet the requirements relating to the right to health and rest” (Cass. Soc. 6 May 2026, No. 24-10.699).
LIMITATION PERIOD: The limitation period for claims relating to supplementary pension schemes is two years.
An employee claimed his retirement benefits in 2011. Believing that the employer had not made sufficient contributions to the supplementary pension scheme, he brought a claim before the employment tribunal in 2016 seeking compensation for the loss suffered, arguing that his action fell under a five-year limitation period. The Cour de Cassation stated as a reminder that the limitation period is determined by the nature of the claim involved. The Court concluded that “claims for payment of sums under the employer’s obligation to affiliate its staff to a supplementary pension scheme and to pay the resulting contributions, which are not salary-related in nature, fall within the scope of the performance of the employment contract and are subject to a two-year limitation period” (Cass. Soc. 15 April 2026, No. 24-14.551).