Unless redeployment was unreasonably refused, an employee dismissed for unfitness for work (inaptitude) of occupational origin is entitled to special severance pay equal to twice the statutory severance pay, unless more favourable collective-agreement provisions apply, and to an indemnity equal to the payment in lieu of notice (article L1226-14). Where redeployment rules were breached and reinstatement is refused, at least six months' salary is added.
The protective regime of articles L1226-10 et seq. covers an employee declared unfit for work following a workplace accident or an occupational disease. The Cour de cassation holds that these rules apply whenever the unfitness, whenever it is recorded or relied on, is caused, at least in part, by that accident or disease, and the employer knew of this occupational origin at the time of dismissal (Cass. soc., 18 September 2024, n° 22-22.782, published in the Bulletin; see earlier, under the former provisions, Cass. soc., 10 July 2002, n° 00-40.436, published in the Bulletin).
Two points matter for the file:
The regime does not apply where the accident or disease occurred while working for another employer (article L1226-6).
Once the occupational physician (médecin du travail) has declared the employee unfit, the employer offers the employee another job suited to their capacities, as comparable as possible to the previous job, within the company or within the group companies located in France whose organisation, activities or place of operation allow all or part of the staff to be transferred between them (article L1226-10). The offer takes into account, after consulting the comité social et économique (the elected staff representative body), the occupational physician's written conclusions and the indications they give on the employee's capacities.
If, one month after the return-to-work medical examination, the employee has been neither redeployed nor dismissed, the employer pays them the salary corresponding to the job they held before the contract was suspended (article L1226-11).
The employer may dismiss only if it can show that it was impossible to offer a suitable job, that the employee refused the job offered, or that the occupational physician's opinion expressly states that any continued employment would seriously harm the employee's health or that the employee's state of health rules out any redeployment in employment (article L1226-12). Where it cannot offer a job, it informs the employee in writing of the reasons preventing redeployment. The same article deems the redeployment obligation fulfilled where the employer has offered a job under the conditions of article L1226-10, taking into account the occupational physician's opinion and indications.
Special severance pay (indemnité spéciale de licenciement) equals twice the statutory severance pay of article L1234-9, unless more favourable collective-agreement provisions apply (article L1226-14). It is the statutory severance pay that is doubled: a court of appeal judgment that had doubled the severance pay under the collective agreement, without identifying more favourable collective-agreement provisions, was quashed (Cass. soc., 25 March 2009, n° 07-41.708, published in the Bulletin).
Three parameters drive the calculation:
| Parameter | Rule | Text |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory severance pay | 1/4 of a month's salary per year up to ten years, 1/3 beyond | R1234-2 |
| Reference salary | Average salary the employee would have received over the last three months had they continued working in the job held before the contract was suspended; it includes the personal rate, bonuses, benefits of any kind, allowances and gratuities | L1226-16 |
| Length of service | The period during which the contract is suspended for a workplace accident, other than a commuting accident, or an occupational disease counts towards all statutory or collective-agreement benefits linked to length of service in the company | L1226-7 |
The employee also receives a compensatory indemnity (indemnité compensatrice) equal in amount to the payment in lieu of notice of article L1234-5. It is calculated on the length of the statutory notice period of article L1234-1 (two months from two years' service), not on that of a notice period under a collective agreement, according to two unpublished judgments (Cass. soc., 2 July 2014, n° 12-29.677; Cass. soc., 24 October 2018, n° 17-18.149). It does not, however, have the nature of a payment in lieu of notice:
In an unpublished judgment, the Cour de cassation inferred from this that the notice period must not be taken into account in determining the length of service used to calculate the special severance pay (Cass. soc., 22 October 2025, n° 24-17.826). Unfitness of non-occupational origin follows the opposite rule: the notice period does not give rise to a payment in lieu but counts towards the calculation of the severance pay (article L1226-4). For notice in general, see how to calculate payment in lieu of notice.
The employer does not owe the two indemnities if it establishes that the refusal of the redeployment offered is unreasonable (abusif) (article L1226-14, paragraph 2). The same article rules out combining them with benefits of the same kind provided for by collective-agreement or contractual provisions in force on 7 January 1981 and intended to compensate the loss resulting from losing the job following the workplace accident or occupational disease. The burden of proof lies on the employer. Under former articles L122-32-5 and L122-32-6, the Cour de cassation held that the employee is entitled to refuse the redeployment post, but that this refusal must not be unreasonable, and that refusing, without legitimate reason, a post suited to their capacities and comparable to the job previously held is unreasonable (Cass. soc., 7 May 1996, n° 92-42.572, published in the Bulletin).
For the employee's lawyer, the analysis therefore focuses on the post offered: compliance with the occupational physician's recommendations, comparability with the previous job and the reasons the employee gave for refusing.
If the dismissal is made in breach of the redeployment rules of articles L1226-10 to L1226-12, the judge may propose that the employee be reinstated. If either party refuses reinstatement, the judge awards an indemnity set in accordance with article L1235-3-1, which is combined with the compensatory indemnity and, where applicable, the special severance pay (article L1226-15). Article L1235-3-1, which covers void dismissals, provides for an indemnity that may not be less than the last six months' salary: see the case of nullity in our article on compensation for dismissal without real and serious cause. The indemnities of article L1226-15, like those of article L1226-14, are calculated on the reference salary of article L1226-16.
Article L1226-15 provides for a separate regime where the employer has not followed the procedure applicable to dismissal on personal grounds, which the last paragraph of article L1226-12 requires of it: article L1235-2, on failure to follow the dismissal procedure, then applies.
Take a fictitious case: an employee dismissed for unfitness following a workplace accident, after 12 years' service (sick leave included), whose average salary over the last three months had they continued working in their job (article L1226-16) is €3,000 gross. The collective agreement provides for nothing more favourable.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory severance pay | (10 × 1/4 + 2 × 1/3) × €3,000 | €9,500 |
| Special severance pay (double) | €9,500 × 2 | €19,000 |
| Compensatory indemnity (two months) | 2 × €3,000 | €6,000 |
| Total indemnities under article L1226-14 | €19,000 + €6,000 | €25,000 |
| If the redeployment rules were breached and reinstatement refused | at least six months of the reference salary (L1226-16): 6 × €3,000 | at least €18,000 on top |
The statutory severance pay of €9,500 is the figure our article on rupture conventionnelle compensation calculates for 12 years' service and a reference salary of €3,000 (calculated there on the last twelve or three months, here under article L1226-16); unfitness of occupational origin doubles it.
For the rest of the file, Plato, which is extending into employment law, models termination scenarios, with every amount traceable back to its source: see its employment law specialisation. The final check remains the lawyer's.
What compensation for a dismissal for unfitness of occupational origin?
Special severance pay equal to twice the statutory severance pay, unless more favourable collective-agreement provisions apply, and a compensatory indemnity equal in amount to the payment in lieu of notice (article L1226-14 of the Labour Code). These indemnities are not due if the employer establishes that the refusal of the redeployment offered is unreasonable.
Is the severance pay under the collective agreement doubled?
Not under article L1226-14: the doubling applies to the statutory severance pay, unless more favourable collective-agreement provisions apply. A court of appeal judgment that had doubled the severance pay under the collective agreement without identifying such provisions was quashed (Cass. soc., 25 March 2009, n° 07-41.708, published in the Bulletin).
Does the compensatory indemnity give rise to paid leave?
It has the amount of the payment in lieu of notice but not its nature, and two unpublished judgments of the Cour de cassation have held that it does not give rise to paid leave (Cass. soc., 9 November 2017, n° 16-14.527; Cass. soc., 16 October 2024, n° 23-18.608).
Must the CPAM have recognised the workplace accident?
Not necessarily. The regime applies whenever the unfitness has an at least partly occupational origin and the employer knew this at the time of dismissal. Recognition by the fund (the CPAM, the local health insurance fund) that has not been challenged binds the juge prud'homal (Cass. soc., 18 September 2024, n° 22-22.782). In a case where the fund's refusal was being challenged, the Cour de cassation upheld the award of an interim payment in summary proceedings (Cass. soc., 4 February 2026, n° 24-21.144).
What happens if the employee refuses the redeployment post?
They keep their indemnities, unless the employer establishes that the refusal is unreasonable. Refusing, without legitimate reason, a post suited to the employee's capacities and comparable to their previous job is unreasonable (Cass. soc., 7 May 1996, n° 92-42.572, published in the Bulletin, handed down under former articles L122-32-5 and L122-32-6).
What indemnity if the employer did not comply with the redeployment obligation?
The judge may propose reinstatement. If it is refused, the judge awards an indemnity set under article L1235-3-1, at least equal to six months' salary calculated on the basis of article L1226-16, which is combined with the compensatory indemnity and, where applicable, the special severance pay (article L1226-15).
Is salary due while redeployment is being sought?
If, one month after the return-to-work medical examination, the employee has been neither redeployed nor dismissed, the employer pays them the salary for the job held before the contract was suspended (article L1226-11).