What is a protected employee?
Verified 26 February 2026 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Any employee who is a candidate in a professional election, who holds or has held a mandate as a staff representative or who exercises certain mandates or functions outside the company is protected against dismissal. This employee is said protected employee. This protection is intended to ensure that the termination is not related to his or her mandate or function. We're taking a look at the regulations.
The main protected employees are:
- Member of CSE: titleContent (incumbent and alternate)
- Trade union delegate
- Trade union representative at the CSE
- Representative of the trade union section
- Employee representative appointed in the context of a safeguard procedure, a reorganization or a judicial liquidation
- Councilor prud'homme
- Advisor to the employee
- Trade Union Advocate.
FYI
Others employees are also protected.
In order to enable the protected employee to exercise his mandate with complete peace of mind and to be protected against possible reprisals or intimidation by the employer, the protected employee shall be entitled to a protection against breach of employment contract.
The employer must then request theAuthorization to the labor inspector to terminate the employee's employment contract.
The protection shall apply in particular in the following cases:
- Dismissal
- Conventional rupture
- Retirement
- End of FIXED-TERM CONTRACT: titleContent, in some cases
- Termination of temporary employment contract, in some cases.
Please note
The employer must also request authorization from the labor inspector when transferring the contract of employment of the protected employee to another company.
The protected employee benefits from protection during his term of office.
At the end of his term of office, he also enjoys, in some cases, protection which varies between 6 and 12 months.
The periods of protection enjoyed by the main employees protected at the end of their term of office are as follows:
- Member of CSE: titleContent (incumbent and alternate): 6 months
- Trade union delegate: 12 months, if he has held office for at least one year
- Trade union representative at the CSE: 6 months if he has held office for at least 2 years
- Representative of the trade union section: 12 months, if he has held office for at least one year
- Employee representative appointed in the context of a judicial reorganization or liquidation: protection ceases when all sums paid to the judicial representative by the AGS: titleContent were paid by the latter to the employees. Where the employee representative is a member of the CSE, the protection ceases at the end of the last hearing or consultation provided for in the administration procedure.
- Councilor prud'homme: 6 months
- Advisor to the employee: 12 months, if he has held office for at least one year
- Trade union defender: no protection.
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Beneficiaries of protection
Duration of protection (Trade Union Delegate)
Duration of protection (Employee mandated by a trade union)
Duration of protection (elected member of the delegation of the staff of the CSE, holder or alternate or of a trade union representative to the CSE)
Duration of protection (employee who asked the employer to organize the CSE elections or to agree to organize these elections)
Duration of protection (candidate, in the first or second round, for elected member of the ESC staff delegation, from the publication of the candidatures)
Duration of protection (representative and former proximity representative)
Duration of protection (candidate for proximity representative)
Duration of protection (member of the Business-to-Business ESC)
Duration of protection (candidate for inter-company membership (CSE))
Duration of protection (member of the special negotiating body or a member of the European company Committee)
Duration of protection (member of the special negotiating body, a representative on the European business Committee, a representative on the European Cooperative business Committee or a representative on the Cross-Border Merger business Committee)
Duration of protection (staff representative of a company outside the Committee on Health, Safety and Working Conditions)
Duration of protection (candidate for the position of staff representative of a company outside the Health, Safety and Working Conditions Committee)
Duration of protection (employee member of a joint committee on health, safety and working conditions in agriculture)
Duration of protection (employee representative)
Term of protection (employee representative on the board of directors or supervisory board of public sector companies)
Duration of protection (member of the board or director of a social security fund)
Term of protection (member of the board of directors of a mutual, union or federation)
Duration of protection (employee representative in a chamber of agriculture)
Duration of protection (employee advisor)
Duration of protection (labor court advisor)
Duration of protection (marine assessor)
Duration of protection (trade union advocate)
Duration of protection (member of the interbranch regional joint committee)
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