France Dismissal for Gross Misconduct (Faute Grave): Procedure

In French employment law, licenciement pour faute grave (dismissal for gross misconduct) is the only ground that allows immediate dismissal without notice and without severance pay — but only if the employer follows the procedure with absolute precision and the misconduct meets the high evidentiary bar. The Cour de cassation has, over decades, refined a body of case law that determines whether conduct rises to “faute grave” or stops at the lesser “faute simple” (giving notice and severance) or “faute lourde” (intent to harm employer; rare but full liability). This deep-dive walks through the procedure step by step for 2026.

1. The Statutory Framework

The Code du travail provisions on dismissal are at:

• Articles L.1232-1 to L.1232-14 (general principles)
• Articles L.1234-1 to L.1234-20 (notice, severance)
• Articles L.1235-1 to L.1235-15 (judicial review and indemnités)

For faute grave specifically:

• Article L.1234-1 (immediate effect — no notice required)
• Article L.1234-9 (no severance — but holiday pay still owed)

Primary source: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/texte_lc/LEGITEXT000006072050/

2. What Constitutes Faute Grave?

The Cour de cassation defines faute grave as conduct that “renders impossible the maintenance of the employee in the company even during the notice period”. Examples found by case law:

• Theft / embezzlement (proven, not suspected)
• Violence, harassment, sexual harassment
• Repeated unjustified absences after warnings
• Insubordination (specific and serious refusal)
• Drunkenness / drug use at work (with safety implications)
• Disclosure of confidential information
• Serious safety violations

Conduct not generally faute grave (without aggravating context):

• Simple arguing with manager
• Single late arrival
• Single absence
• Performance shortfalls (these are insufficiency, not misconduct)
• Inability to do the job (insufficiency or restructuring, not misconduct)

The bar is high. Many employers cite faute grave only to be downgraded by the Conseil de Prud’hommes (CPH) to faute simple (with severance owed) or to dismissal without cause real and serious (with damages).

3. The Time Limit — Délai of 2 Months

Under article L.1332-4 Code du travail, disciplinary action must be initiated within 2 months of the employer becoming aware of the conduct. Beyond 2 months, the conduct is prescribed for disciplinary purposes — even if subsequent conduct is also occurring.

If the conduct gives rise to criminal proceedings, the 2-month window is suspended pending criminal outcome.

This 2-month rule trips many employers who try to “stockpile” misconduct. The clock starts at first knowledge.

4. The Procedure — Step by Step

Step 1: Mise à pied conservatoire (Optional)

For very serious situations, the employer may impose an immediate suspension (mise à pied conservatoire) — pay continues during the suspension period. This must be notified in writing.

Used for: violence, theft suspicion, safety threat, gross insubordination — situations where the employee’s continued presence is itself a problem.

Step 2: Convocation à entretien préalable

Under article L.1232-2, the employer summons the employee to a preliminary meeting:

• Written letter (LRAR or hand-delivered against receipt)
• Specifies date, time, location of meeting
• Informs the employee of the right to be assisted (a fellow employee, or a “conseiller du salarié” from a public list)
• Indicates that “dismissal is being considered”
• Minimum 5 working days between letter and meeting (article R.1232-1)

Failure of this notice = procedural defect (irregularity). The dismissal may stand on the merits but the employee gets compensation for procedural irregularity (typically 1 month salary).

Step 3: Entretien Préalable

The meeting must:

• Be conducted by the employer or authorised representative
• Set out the reasons for considering dismissal
• Allow the employee to respond
• Document discussion (minutes encouraged but not strictly required)

The meeting is informal; no decision is announced at the meeting itself.

Step 4: Notification of Dismissal Letter

Under article L.1232-6, the dismissal letter must be sent by LRAR:

• No earlier than 2 working days after the entretien (article L.1332-2)
• No later than 1 month after the entretien (otherwise procedural defect)
• Must contain specific motifs (Cour de cassation: “specific, precise, dated, sourced facts”)
• Vague phrases (“attitude inappropriée”, “insuffisance professionnelle”) are insufficient — the letter must enable the employee to know exactly what they are accused of

The motifs in the letter fix the dispute boundary. The employer cannot raise new motifs in court.

Reference: https://travail-emploi.gouv.fr/le-ministere-en-action/coronavirus-covid-19/questions-reponses-par-theme/article/proceder-a-un-licenciement-pour-faute-grave-ou-faute-lourde

Step 5: Notice of Dismissal — Immediate Effect

For faute grave:

• Dismissal effective from the date the LRAR is presented to the employee
• No notice (préavis) period — article L.1234-1
• No severance (indemnité de licenciement) — article L.1234-9
• No notice indemnity (indemnité compensatrice de préavis)

What is owed:

• Salary up to dismissal date
• Indemnité compensatrice de congés payés (paid leave accrued but not taken)
• Documents at termination: reçu pour solde de tout compte, certificat de travail, attestation France Travail (formerly Pôle Emploi), pré-portabilité notice for mutuelle/prévoyance

5. Documentation Quality — The Make-or-Break Factor

The CPH judges faute grave on a careful evidentiary review:

• Witness statements with name, position, signed and dated declarations under article 202 CPC
• Email / text evidence (subject to data protection and proportionality)
• CCTV (only if employees informed in advance per CNIL guidance)
• Written warnings preceding the conduct (showing escalation)
• Internal regulations (règlement intérieur) where breached
• Timesheets / access logs for absence allegations

Half-documented faute grave = downgraded to faute simple at minimum.

6. Common Mistakes — Gyoseishoshi View

7. The Employee’s Recourse — Conseil de Prud’hommes

The employee has 12 months from notification of dismissal to bring a claim before the Conseil de Prud’hommes under article L.1471-1 Code du travail.

CPH can:

• Confirm faute grave — no compensation owed beyond what was paid
• Re-qualify as faute simple — owes notice indemnity + severance
• Re-qualify as without cause real and serious — owes notice + severance + damages (capped by Macron scale: from 0 months to 20 months salary depending on length of service and company size, articles L.1235-3-1)
• Annul if discriminatory or harassment-related — uncapped damages

8. The Macron Scale — Compensation Cap

Since the Ordonnances Macron 2017, judicial damages for dismissal without cause are capped under article L.1235-3:

For companies with < 11 employees, the cap floor is lower (article L.1235-3 second indent).

The Cour de cassation has confirmed (2022 and 2023 décisions) that the Macron scale is binding except in cases of fundamental rights violations (discrimination, harassment), where damages remain uncapped.

9. Faute Lourde — A Step Beyond

Faute lourde is faute grave PLUS intent to harm the employer. The employee not only acts wrongly but does so to damage the company. Examples: industrial sabotage, stealing trade secrets to compete.

Faute lourde permits:

• Same immediate dismissal as grave
• Plus personal civil liability of the employee for damages
• Plus historically (until 2016): forfeiture of paid leave indemnity (now neutralised by Cour de cassation)

In practice, faute lourde is rarely used; faute grave covers most situations.

10. Strategic Implications for Employers

1. Don’t conflate insufficiency and misconduct — performance issues require licenciement pour insuffisance professionnelle (different procedure, with notice and severance)
2. Document escalation — written warnings before dismissal protect against re-qualification
3. Calendar the 2-month window rigorously — start at first awareness
4. Build the dismissal letter from facts — date, place, witness, conduct
5. Audit règlement intérieur — ensure regulations are current and consultable
6. Use mise à pied conservatoire for serious cases — protects investigation phase

Conclusion — Procedure as Protection

Licenciement pour faute grave gives French employers a powerful tool — immediate exit without notice or severance — but the procedure rewards rigour. Half-measures invariably lead to CPH re-qualification and damages under the Macron scale. The Cour de cassation has set a high evidentiary bar, and the 2-month window is unforgiving.

A Gyoseishoshi cannot represent French employers before the CPH or Cour de cassation. Scrib🐮 produces the documentary architecture: convocation letters, entretien minute templates, dismissal letters with statutory motif structure, and post-dismissal document packs.

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Disclaimer

Legal information, not legal advice. MmowW Scrib🐮 is operated by a licensed Gyoseishoshi (行政書士) office in Japan. We are not avocats.

Sources

• Code du travail: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/texte_lc/LEGITEXT000006072050/
• Service-public.fr (licenciement pour motif personnel): https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F2855
• Travail-emploi.gouv.fr (faute grave): https://travail-emploi.gouv.fr/le-ministere-en-action/coronavirus-covid-19/questions-reponses-par-theme/article/proceder-a-un-licenciement-pour-faute-grave-ou-faute-lourde
• Cour de cassation: https://www.courdecassation.fr/