Most guides to the rupture conventionnelle, the French negotiated termination of a permanent contract, are written for the employee who wants to leave. This one is written for the other side of the table: the HR officer or HR manager who has to make the procedure safe, from the first meeting to approval on TéléRC. A badly handled mutual termination can be annulled by the employment tribunal (conseil de prud’hommes) and reclassified as an unfair dismissal. Here you will find the steps in order, the checks to make before each signature, the cases that change the procedure, and how to showcase this practice on your CV.
What a mutual termination is
An agreement, not a sanction
The rupture conventionnelle allows the employer and an employee on a permanent contract (CDI) to end the contract by mutual agreement. It is neither a dismissal nor a resignation. Neither party can impose it, and each party’s consent must be free and informed: this is the point the administration checks, and the one an employee challenges before the employment tribunal.
Excluded contracts and periods
According to the Service Public Entreprendre page on mutual termination 🔗, the scheme does not apply to fixed-term contracts (CDD), temporary agency contracts or apprenticeship contracts, and it cannot be agreed during the probationary period. It is, however, possible during sick leave, maternity leave or parental leave, provided consent remains free.
What HR must check from the outset
Even before the first meeting, ask yourself three questions:
- the context: is there a dispute, a disciplinary procedure under way, a reported harassment situation? A conflict does not rule out a mutual termination, but it requires extra vigilance about consent;
- the employee’s status: are they protected (elected member of the CSE works council, union representative, other mandate)? The procedure is then different;
- the economic context: a mutual termination must not be used to get around an economic redundancy procedure.
The preliminary meetings
At least one meeting
The employer and the employee must meet at least once. The agreement can be signed at that meeting, and no minimum time is required between the meeting and the signature. In practice, many HR teams plan two meetings: one to discuss the principle, one to settle the terms. This gives the employee time to think, and it strengthens the evidence of informed consent.
The invitation
No particular form is required, but a written invitation is preferable to keep a record of the invitation to negotiate. The invitation reminds the employee that they may be accompanied. In a company without employee representatives, they may be accompanied by another employee or by an external employee adviser (conseiller du salarié), whose list is available at the town hall and the labour inspectorate. In a company with representatives, they may be accompanied by another employee, whether a representative or not.
The employer’s assistance
The employer may only be assisted if the employee is assisted, and must tell the employee before the meeting. Managers often do not know this: if the employee comes alone, the manager and HR cannot attend together to “support” them. Who may assist the employer then depends on the size of the company.
What is discussed
The meetings are used to set the terms of the termination: the contract end date and the amount of the payment. They also cover related matters: remaining paid leave, non-compete clause, return of equipment, handover of files.
Calculating the payment and the end date
The specific payment
The employee receives a specific mutual termination payment, whatever their length of service. Its amount cannot be lower than the statutory dismissal payment, and the collective agreement may set a more favourable minimum. The Code du travail numérique calculator 🔗 lets you check the minimum due; TéléRC also checks this amount when the form is entered.
The information to gather
For a correct calculation, HR gathers: the exact length of service (taking into account which periods of absence count), the salaries of the last few months, the bonuses to include and the applicable collective agreement. It is often the payroll administrator who prepares this calculation, and it is often where errors creep in.
The contract end date
It is set in the agreement and cannot be earlier than the day after approval. There is no notice period as such: the end date is negotiated taking into account the withdrawal period and the review period. During the procedure, the employee keeps working normally.
The final settlement
On the end date, payroll prepares the final settlement (solde de tout compte) with the payment, untaken leave and remaining pay items, as well as the end-of-contract documents: employment certificate, employer certificate sent through the DSN.
Withdrawal period and approval
Signing
The agreement is drafted on the online service or, failing that, on the official cerfa form. It is printed in three copies, dated and signed by hand by both parties. A signed copy must be given to the employee: without it, the employee can have the termination annulled. Have them sign a receipt.
The withdrawal period
Each party has fifteen calendar days to change their mind, starting the day after signature. Withdrawal is made by registered letter or by letter handed over against a receipt, without giving a reason. If the last day falls on a non-working day, the period is extended to the next working day.
The approval request
When the withdrawal period ends, the request is filed on TéléRC 🔗, the Ministry of Labour’s online service. The administration then has fifteen working days to check that the agreement is valid. Without an answer within that period, the agreement is deemed approved. A refusal states its reasons: a procedural step missed, a payment below the minimum.
The checklist before filing
- written invitation and meeting notes archived;
- assistance correctly stated on the form;
- payment checked against the statutory and collective agreement minimum;
- end date later than the likely end of the review;
- copy given to the employee, with a receipt.
Special cases (protected employee, sick leave)
The protected employee
For an employee holding a mandate (elected CSE member, union representative, certain other mandates), the agreement is not approved but authorised by the labour inspector, and TéléRC cannot be used. The CSE must be consulted beforehand for most of these mandates, and its minutes go with the request. The inspector checks that consent was freely given and that there is no link with the mandate. Here, silence from the administration means rejection, and the termination can only take effect the day after authorisation. These files belong to employee relations as much as to personnel administration; our article on employee relations on your CV shows how to present this skill. In the most sensitive files, HR also works with a lawyer: the CV of an employment law in-house counsel 🔗 gives an idea of what this profile brings.
Sick leave
A mutual termination remains possible during sick leave, but consent must be beyond question. If the leave is linked to a conflict or to distress at work, caution is essential: document the exchanges, allow time and make sure no pressure can be alleged. Once the end date is set, it is not pushed back by sick leave that starts during the procedure.
Unfitness and the economic context
When the occupational physician has declared the employee unfit for work, or when the company faces economic difficulties, a mutual termination raises more delicate legal questions. This is the moment to consult the legal department or a lawyer before going further.
What this practice says about you on a CV
Running mutual terminations is a genuine skill in personnel administration and individual employee relations. On your CV, write it with its scope and your actual role, for example: “Prepared and followed up mutual terminations for a production site: meetings with managers, payment calculations with payroll, approval on TéléRC.” The HR officer CV example and the personnel administrator CV example show where to place this kind of line. To organise it alongside your other skills, use our article on the skills to put on your HR CV, then create your CV for free: the layout is handled by the tool, and the file is read cleanly by ATS, which pick up a term like “TéléRC” more easily in a clear line than in a graphic block.
Sources
- Service Public Entreprendre, Mutual termination of a CDI 🔗: conditions, meetings, withdrawal, approval, protected employees.
- Service-Public.fr, mutual termination page for employees 🔗.
- Code du travail numérique, mutual termination topic 🔗 and payment calculator 🔗.
- Ministry of Labour, TéléRC online service 🔗.
Frequently asked questions
Is the employer obliged to accept a request for mutual termination?
No. Neither party is obliged to accept, or even to answer, a request. HR can refuse, possibly explaining why, and suggest other options: internal mobility, adjusting the role, training.
Can the agreement be signed on the day of the first meeting?
It is legally possible, since no delay is required between the meeting and the signature. It is rarely a good idea: a period for reflection protects the validity of consent, and therefore the employer.
Can the employee work normally during the procedure?
Yes, they keep working until the end date set in the agreement. Leave or sick leave during the procedure does not push back that date.
Who should file the request on TéléRC?
Either the employer or the employee can do it. In practice, it is almost always HR, which has the information on length of service and pay. Keep a copy of the filing acknowledgement in the employee’s file.