Unfair or null dismissal: must the employer or employee reimburse unemployment benefits?
Verified 14 August 2026 - Public Service / (Prime Minister)
The Labor Court may find that a dismissal is without real and serious cause: this is called a unfair dismissal. It can also cancel a dismissal: in this case, the dismissal is called null. When the employee has received unemployment benefits between the date of dismissal and the decision of the judge, the employer must in certain cases reimburse them. The employee may also be obliged to repay the allowances received. We're taking a look at the regulations. It varies according to seniority of the employee in the company and the number of employees in the company.
Less than 11 employees
The regulations also vary depending on whether the dismissal is judged without real and serious cause, that is to say abusive or annulled by the judge, i.e null :
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Unfair dismissal
The employer must not repay unemployment benefits paid to employees.
Similarly, the employee must not repay the unemployment benefits he received.
Redundancy void
The obligation to reimburse unemployment benefits may concern the employer or the employee:
Reimbursement by employer
Yes, the employer must repay France Travail (formerly Job center) all or part of the unemployment benefits paid to the employee when the dismissal was declared void in the following situations:
- Dismissal for one discriminatory ground (e.g. an employee made redundant as a result of the exercise of right to strike)
- Dismissal of the employee following his legal action on compliance with the principle of non-discrimination
- Dismissal as a result of his legal action on compliance with the principle of professional equality between women and men
- Dismissal of employee victim of psychological harassment or having related or testified about such acts
- Dismissal of employee victim of sexual harassment or having recounted or testified about such acts.
The Labor Court orders the employer to reimburse the unemployment benefits paid to the dismissed employee.
France Travail is informed of the judgment and takes care of the recovery allowances from the employer.
The employer must reimburse France travail for the unemployment benefits paid to the employee between the date of his dismissal and the date of the judgment declaring the dismissal void.
Reimbursement is, however, limited to 6 months of allocation.
Reimbursement by the employee
Depending on whether the employee is protected employee (e.g. former member elected to CSE: titleContent, advisor to employee, prud'hommes councilor) or not, he may be asked to reimburse the unemployment benefits he has received:
General scenario
No, the employee must not repay the unemployment benefits he received.
Protected employee
Yes, the protected employee must repay the unemployment benefits he received if all the following conditions are met :
- Dismissal declared void due to the lack of authorization of labor inspection
- Reinstatement of the employee in the company
- Condemnation of the employer to pay the employee a sum corresponding to wages he should have received between dismissal and reinstatement.
The labor court council order the employee to repay the unemployment benefits he received after his dismissal.
France Labor is informed of the judgment and takes care of the recovery allowances to the employee.
The employee must reimburse France travail all unemployment benefits that he has received between the date of his dismissal and the date of his reintegration into the company.
11 employees and more
The regulations also vary depending on whether the dismissal is judged without real and serious cause, that is to say abusive or annulled by the judge, i.e null :
Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement
Unfair dismissal
The obligation to reimburse unemployment benefits may concern the employer or the employee:
Reimbursement by employer
Based on seniority of the employee, the judge may order the employer to reimburse the unemployment benefits received by the employee after his dismissal:
The employee has less than 2 years of seniority
No, the employer must not repay unemployment benefits paid to employees.
The employee has 2 years of seniority and more
Yes, the labor court may order reimbursement by the employer unemployment benefits paid to the employee between the date of his dismissal and the date of the judgment declaring the dismissal unfair.
FYI
The amount of reimbursement shall be determined by the Labor Court. He is limited to 6 months unemployment benefit.
Reimbursement by the employee
No, the employee must not repay the unemployment benefits he received.
Redundancy void
The obligation to reimburse unemployment benefits may concern the employer or the employee:
Reimbursement by employer
Yes, the employer must repay France Travail (formerly Job center) all or part of the unemployment benefits paid to the employee when the dismissal was declared void in the following situations:
- Dismissal for one discriminatory ground (e.g. an employee made redundant as a result of the exercise of right to strike)
- Dismissal of the employee following his legal action on compliance with the principle of non-discrimination
- Dismissal as a result of his legal action on compliance with the principle of professional equality between women and men
- Dismissal of employee victim of psychological harassment or having related or testified about such acts
- Dismissal of employee victim of sexual harassment or having recounted or testified about such acts.
- Dismissal pronounced in the absence of a decision to validate or approve the job protection plan or sound cancelation for insufficiency the job protection plan, in a company employing at least 50 employees.
The Labor Court order reimbursement by the employer unemployment benefits paid to the dismissed employee.
France Labor is informed of the judgment and takes care of the recovery allowances from the employer.
The employer must reimburse France travail for the unemployment benefits paid to the employee between the date of his dismissal and the date of the judgment declaring the dismissal void.
The refund is limited to 6 months of allocation.
Reimbursement by the employee
Depending on whether the employee is protected employee (for example elected to CSE: titleContent, advisor to employee, prud'hommes councilor) or not, he may be asked to reimburse the unemployment benefits he has received:
General scenario
No, the employee must not repay the unemployment benefits he received.
Protected employee
Yes, the protected employee must repay the unemployment benefits he received if all the following conditions are met :
- Dismissal declared void due to the lack of authorization of labor inspection
- Reinstatement of the employee in the company
- Condemnation of the employer to pay the employee a sum corresponding to wages he should have received between dismissal and reinstatement.
The labor court council order the employee to repay the unemployment benefits he received after his dismissal.
France Labor is informed of the judgment and takes care of the recovery allowances to the employee.
The employee must reimburse France travail all unemployment benefits that he has received between the date of his dismissal and the date of his reintegration into the company.
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Administrative information by telephone - Allô Service Public
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He does not respond questions concerning unemployment compensation and the approach to the France Labor (formerly Job center), public servants or contract workers of the fCivil Service, the amount or payment of contributions social, wage or employer.
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The informants who answer you belong to the ministry responsible for labor.
Disputes and penalties for dismissal irregularities
Reimbursement of unemployment benefits