Dismissal for economic reasons: adaptation and reclassification of employees

Verified 26 February 2026 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Before proceeding to a economic redundancy, the employer must implement all measures enablingavoid redundancies. It must train and adapt employees to their jobs to enable them to be reclassified to another position. The employer must search all the possibilities of reclassification and offer them to employees. We present the regulations to you.

Throughout the duration of the employment contract, the employer must ensure the employee's adaptation to his or her job.

It must preserve the employee's ability to maintain his or her employment, particularly in the light of changes in jobs and technology.

It can thus propose a complementary training of short duration allowing a rapid implementation on the station.

All employers are affected by the reclassification obligation whatever the number planned redundancies and regardless of the size of the company.

Please note

Where the proposed dismissal is motivated by the cessation of the company's activity, the obligation to reclassify does not apply. This obligation shall, however, apply if the company belongs to a group.

In order to avoid economic dismissal, the employer must look for redeployment possibilities and offer them to employees.

Priority, the employer offers the employee a job falling within the same category as that which it occupies (or equivalent employment) with equivalent remuneration.

If no position is available, the employer must extend its search to jobs that the employee could perform after training to adapt to that job.

Please note

Job-specific training is not initial training. She's from short duration to ensure a rapid implementation on the station.

In the absence of employment falling within the same category, the employer may propose a lower category of employment with a lower remuneration.

The proposed post may take the form of a DTA: titleContent or a FIXED-TERM CONTRACT: titleContent, full time or part time.

The reclassification search scope differs if the company belongs to a group or not:

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The company is not part of a group

The search for reclassification is carried out on the positions available in the company.

The company is part of a group

When the company is part of a group, the employer looks for available jobs or positions in all Group companies located in France.

The employer has 2 possibilities to propose the reclassification offers:

  • Either it sends each employee a personalized offer
  • Either it disseminates to all employees the list of available positions.

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Custom offer

Upgrade offers are written, precise and concrete.

They shall specify the following statements :

  • Job title and job description
  • Name of employer
  • Nature of the employment contract
  • Location of the station
  • Amount of remuneration
  • Classification of the position.

The letter of reclassification proposal specifies the employee's response time. It also mentions the form of the reply (registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt for example).

Dissemination of the list of available positions

The employer shall communicate by any means the list of available posts to all employees. For example, the employer can use the company's intranet.

Upgrade offers are written, precise and concrete.

They shall specify the following statements :

  • Job title and job description
  • Name of employer
  • Nature of the employment contract
  • Location of the station
  • Amount of remuneration
  • Classification of the position.

This list includes all available positions located in France in the company, and in the other companies of the group to which the company belongs, located in France.

It specifies the criteria for deciding between employees in the event of multiple applications for the same position.

The list shall indicate the period within which the employee may apply.

This period must be at least 15 clear days from the date of circulation of the list.

Please note

In companies subject to a recovery or a bankruptcy, the time limit shall be at least 4 clear days.

If the employee accepts an offer to reclassify, he shall inform the employer in writing within the time limit laid down in the reclassification proposal.

He can be reclassified to the position he has accepted. Its written consent is recommended in order to avoid any dispute.

The written agreement of the employee is mandatory if the reclassification is carried out on a job of a lower category or is the subject of a endorsement in the event of modification of the employment contract.

Please note

Where the employer has offered a reclassification post to several employees, it cannot guarantee to the employee that the reclassification post proposed to him will be allocated to him if he accepts it. Indeed, the employer must take into account the applications of the other employees concerned by the reclassification offer.

The employee may refuse the proposed reclassification offer. The employer must continue to seek reclassification until the dismissal has been completed. notified.

If, despite all its efforts to find, no other reclassification could be found, the employer may dismiss the employee for economic reasons.

If the employee refuses all offers of reclassification proposed, the employer may dismiss him for economic reasons.

Please note

The employer may dismiss the employee if all training and adaptation opportunities have been carried out in order for the employee to retain his position or to be reclassified to another available position.

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