Labour law: Bruno Le Maire wants to reduce the time limit for appeals after a dismissal

Barthélémy Philippe / Photo credit: Stephane Mouchmouche / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP 09:09, 09 December 2023

After the 2019 Pacte law, the government wants a new text to simplify labour law and loosen the constraints on companies. Among the provisions mentioned by Bruno Le Maire, the reduction of the time limits for filing an appeal against a company in the event of dismissal. Today, an employee dismissed by his employer has 12 months to refer the matter to the labor courts. The Minister of the Economy wants to reduce this period.

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Bruno Le Maire wants to move to two months, as in Italy or the Netherlands, to give visibility to companies. A measure difficult to apply in France, according to Eric Rocheblave, a lawyer specializing in labor law, who also points to a potential perverse effect for the employer. "Before going to court, we have what we call negotiation, attempts at conciliation to avoid the labor court. If we shorten that time, what will happen is an increase in the number of referrals within this two-month period, which is counterproductive, not to say idiotic," insists the lawyer.

"Twelve months is a long time, two months is a short time"

For Éric Rocheblave, "twelve months is indeed a long time, two months seems short to me. In practice, I see referrals to the judge three, four, five months after the dismissal letter." Since 2010, the number of referrals to the labour court has fallen sharply. The effect of the contractual termination procedure created in 2008, but also of the Macron ordinances of 2017. They have capped the amount of compensation for employees who contest unfair dismissal, which discourages some from referring the matter to the labor court.