The law offers special protection to employees during a crucial period in their lives: the 10 weeks following the birth of their child. Breaking the contract during this period is strictly regulated.
🔑 A key point to remember: except in cases of serious misconduct or for reasons totally unrelated to the birth of the child, dismissal is prohibited.
Any dismissal of an employee in breach of these rules will be considered null and void, and may give rise to the payment of damages to the employee amounting to 6 months’ salary.
For the first time, in September 2023, the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) highlighted this protection.
In this situation, a sales manager, dismissed two weeks after the birth of his child, had his dismissal annulled because the reasons put forward by his employer were not sufficiently solid during this protected period.
Young fathers therefore enjoy the same protection against dismissal as young mothers within 10 weeks of the birth of the child, and dismissal of the latter must be justified by the impossibility of keeping him in his job.
The case law applicable to pregnant women can therefore be applied in a similar way to young fathers.
💡 Good to know: whether for a father or a mother, these 10 weeks post-birth are sacrosanct. If there are grounds for concern, it is imperative to wait until the end of this period before taking any action.
The employee is therefore protected during this period.
Thus, economic reasons for dismissal, the end of a project, physical unfitness and the impossibility of redeployment, as well as professional incompetence, will not constitute grounds for dismissal during this period. This impossibility of retaining the employee in his post must therefore be based on circumstances totally independent of the employee.
However, it would have been perfectly possible to dismiss him on the same grounds at the end of this period.
We recommend that you be particularly vigilant with your employees who are young parents, and more generally in all situations linked to maternity, paternity or any situation that could open the door to accusations of discrimination.
When faced with such delicate situations, expert advice is essential. Naturally, DESRUMAUX AVOCATS is at your disposal to help you manage these complex cases.
