An employee who abandons his position will now be considered to have resigned. It is in a decree published at the beginning of the week that the Council of State delivered the conclusion of a long-standing debate, which risks strongly penalizing private sector employees to the benefit of employers.
Abandonment changes status
Until now, an employee who decided to abandon his position could benefit from compensation. When his employer decided to terminate his employment contract, he would have to go through a classic dismissal procedureserious misconduct not being invoked for abandonment of post. In 2022, several deputies from the Renaissance and Les Républicains parties vote in favor of the law on the presumption of resignation of employees in the private sector. Objective: fight against 82,000 job abandonments which occur every year in France, and allow companies to react more quickly in a context “emergency relating to the functioning of the labor market with a view to full employment“. Attacked by several unions, including the CGT, FSU and Solidaires, who believe that “80% of job abandonments are due to poor working conditions, for which the employer does not want to take responsibility for a dismissal or a contractual termination and, thus, save the related compensation“, the text was the subject of a cancellation request with the Council of State.
The decision was awaited for a long time, it was finally rendered this Wednesday: an employee who voluntarily abandons his position and does not return to work after having been given notice to justify his absence and to return to his position within the deadline set by the The employer within fifteen days will automatically be considered to have resigned. He will therefore not touch neither severance pay nor right to unemployment.
A mandatory formal notice
For the Council of State, and provided that the employer sends a formal notice to the employee who has abandoned his position to inform him of the consequences of this abandonment of position, the voluntary termination of contract is at the initiative of the employeewho no longer shows up at his post to provide the work requested. The system only concerns the private sector, but in reality only aligns with the public sector, already subject to the same rules.
Let us remember, however, that job abandonment cannot be invoked by the employer in the event of a legitimate reason, such as for example medical reasons, or the exercise of a right of withdrawal, strike or refusal to a modification deemed abusive of the terms of the employment contract.
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