French redundancy pay calculator
When a French company dismisses someone for any reason short of serious misconduct, the law requires it to pay the indemnité légale de licenciement. It is not a negotiation and does not depend on the employer being generous: it is a floor set by the Labour Code, computed from just two inputs — the reference salary and length of service. This calculator applies the scale in article R1234-2 and breaks down what each band contributes.
Calculation of the statutory scale in articles L1234-9 and R1234-2 of the French Labour Code. It is a floor: if your collective agreement sets a more favourable formula, that one applies. It does not cover dismissal for faute grave or faute lourde, which removes the entitlement, nor compensation for void or unfair dismissal, which a judge sets using the barème Macron. It also excludes notice pay, untaken holiday, and outstanding bonuses. Consult an employment lawyer or the labour inspectorate for your case.
Below 8 months of service there is no entitlement to statutory redundancy pay.
Statutory redundancy pay
Service counted:
First 10 years (¼ month/year)
From year 10 (⅓ month/year)
Publicidad
How it works
The scale runs at two speeds. Each of the first ten years earns a quarter of a month of pay; from year ten onward, every additional year is worth a third of a month. Someone with twelve years and a €2,000 reference salary receives 10 × ¼ × €2,000 = €5,000 for the first band, plus 2 × ⅓ × €2,000 = €1,333.33 for the second, giving €6,333.33. Partial years are not lost — they are prorated by month, so two and a half years yields exactly 2.5 × a quarter of a month. The entry requirement is eight months of continuous service; below that no entitlement arises. The reference salary is not simply your last payslip: the law takes whichever is more favourable between one twelfth of the last twelve months of pay and one third of the last three months, counting annual bonuses only in the proportion attributable to the period.
What it pays by length of service, on a €2,000 salary
The second band only starts to bite after year ten. These amounts apply the statutory scale to a gross monthly reference salary of €2,000:
| Service | First 10 years | Later band | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 years | €1,000.00 | — | €1,000.00 |
| 5 years | €2,500.00 | — | €2,500.00 |
| 10 years | €5,000.00 | — | €5,000.00 |
| 15 years | €5,000.00 | €3,333.33 | €8,333.33 |
| 20 years | €5,000.00 | €6,666.67 | €11,666.67 |
| 30 years | €5,000.00 | €13,333.33 | €18,333.33 |
When it is owed and when it is not, by reason for leaving
Not every exit from a French company triggers this payment. The reason the contract ends changes everything:
| Reason for termination | Statutory pay? | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Personal (non-disciplinary) dismissal | Yes | Poor performance, medical unfitness, or another real and serious cause |
| Economic redundancy | Yes | Added to the social plan where the company must produce one |
| Faute grave | No | Notice pay is lost too; untaken holiday is still paid |
| Faute lourde | No | Requires intent to harm the company, proven by the employer |
| Rupture conventionnelle | Yes | The specific indemnity can never fall below the statutory amount |
| Resignation | No | Unless treated as justified by unpaid wages or proven harassment |
| End of fixed-term contract | No | A 10% precarity premium on total gross pay applies instead |
Publicidad
Preguntas frecuentes
- Which salary do I enter, gross or net?
- Gross, and not simply last month's figure but the reference salary. The law lets you take whichever of two calculations is more favourable: one twelfth of everything earned over the last twelve months, or one third of the last three months. If an annual bonus fell inside those three months, only the share attributable to that period counts, so it cannot artificially inflate the base.
- I was dismissed at nine years and eleven months. Do I reach the one-third band?
- No — that band applies only to years beyond the tenth. At nine years and eleven months your whole entitlement sits in the quarter-month band: 9.917 × ¼ of a month. The gap with waiting one more month is small but real, because from month one hundred and twenty-one each additional year is worth a third instead of a quarter.
- Is this payment taxed?
- Statutory redundancy pay is fully exempt from income tax where it does not exceed the amount set by law or by the collective agreement. If the employer pays above the scale, the excess may be taxable within limits tied to twice the previous year gross annual pay and to 50% of the total payment. Social contributions follow their own rules, capped by reference to the Sécurité sociale ceiling.
- What if my collective agreement says something different?
- The agreement wins where it is more favourable, and in many French sectors it is. Metalworking, banking, and several retail branches apply their own formulas that beat the statutory scale, sometimes with coefficients by age or service band. The figure from this calculator is the legal floor: always compare it with your convention collective before signing the final settlement.
- Does time on sick leave count toward service?
- It depends on the type of leave. Absence for a workplace accident or occupational illness counts in full as effective working time. Ordinary non-occupational sick leave suspends the contract and does not add service unless the collective agreement provides otherwise. Maternity and paternity leave always count.