Dismissal after approval of a mutual termination agreement does not relieve the employer of the obligation to pay the termination indemnity

Court of Cassation, Labor Div., 25 June 2025, no. 24-12.096

An employee signed a mutual termination agreement (rupture conventionnelle) on January 15, 2018, with an effective date set for June 30 of the same year.

At the end of the withdrawal period, the agreement was approved by the labor administration.

On April 23, 2018, the employee was summoned to a preliminary meeting ahead of a possible dismissal and was subsequently dismissed for gross misconduct due to acts of sexual harassment.

The employee claimed that the company had failed to pay the specific termination indemnity provided for in the agreement.

The company argued that the mutual termination agreement had no legal effect due to the dismissal.

The Court of Appeal rejected the employee’s claim, ruling that the mutual termination agreement was null and void, as the dismissal had terminated the employment contract before the agreement’s effective date.

The Court of Cassation overturned this decision by:

• allowing for dismissal on grounds of gross misconduct “between the end of the withdrawal period and the effective date of the mutual termination agreement, for misconduct that occurred and came to light during that period”;

• affirming, however, that “the right to the mutual termination indemnity, although only payable on the termination date, arises upon approval of the agreement.”

Thus, a dismissal occurring after the administrative approval does not affect the validity of the mutual termination agreement but only has the effect—if justified—of ending the employment contract before the effective date set by the parties.