Making comparisons of memorandum and resignation in France and common law

Thèmes abordés

Resignation and constructive dismissal, common law, English resignation

Résumé du document

In France like in UK, employees have two ways to leave their company: resignation and constructive dismissal. First, we are going to compare resignation, Lison will talk about France and I will talk about UK and you will see that the two systems are very similar.

In France, resignation allows the employee to terminate his indefinite term contract without having to justify his decision. It is a right that the employee can use when he want to. However, the resignation shall not be excessive, that is to say, taken with the intent to harm the employer.

There are a lot of similitary between the French and the English resignation. A resignation is a unilateral termination of a contract of employment by the employee, it's a right for the employee. In France, the employee who signed a fixed-term contract is not allowed to resign.

Extraits

[...] Making comparisons of memorandum and resignation in France and common law I. Demission/resignation In France like in UK, employees have two ways to leave their company: resignation and constructive dismissal. First, we are going to compare resignation, Lison will talk about France and I will talk about UK and you will see that the two systems are very similar. In France, resignation allows the employee to terminate his indefinite term contract without having to justify his decision. It is a right that the employee can use when he want to. [...]

[...] Then it was judged that the failure of the employer must be a fundamental violation of the employment contract Irving Thwaite Holme Kitchens (1995) IRLB 518). The violation could be a wage reduction, an imposed change of position or a breach in the duty of confidentiality. Further, the employee must demonstrate that he considers that the employer's conduct is equivalent to a constructive dismissal or he will be deemed to have accepted the changes made in the employment contract. The concept of "contructive dismissal" only covers cases where the conduct of the employer authorizes the unilateral breaking of contract. [...]

[...] In France either, there are no rules that require a special form to resign. The employee can notify the employer by writing or orally. However, only a written notice, by registered mail or delivered by hand against receipt, will prevent future disputes. The employee cannot quit his job immediately after he signified his resignation to the employer. He normally execute his employment contract until the end, and he must comply a notice period before the final rupture of the employment contract (unless waiver of notice). [...]

[...] It refers to situations in which it seems that there is resignation but it turns out that the reason for which the English employee resigns are facts criticized to the employer. This concept, however, knows a legal limit: if the reason for which the employee resigned must come from the employer, all types of the employer behavior do not imply a dismissal. Section 95 of the Employment Relations Act of 1996 provides that the conduct of the employer must give the employee the right to invoke a constructive dismissal. [...]

[...] To know how long the notice period in the case of resignation is, the employee has to check the collective agreement or his employment contract or the labor law. In England, when the employee resigns he has to respect a notice period like in France, during this period he continues to work for his employer but the term is not the same. If you have worked in the company between one month and two years, you must give at least one week's notice. [...]