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Application for judicial termination and maintenance of employment of the employee
The application for judicial termination of an employment contract offers a secure way for employees to terminate their contract while remaining in the service of their employer until a decision is made. This allows the employee to ask the judge to terminate the employment contract at the expense of the employer. However, when an employee requests the termination of his contract because of grievances against the employer while continuing to work, and the employer subsequently dismisses the employee for other reasons during the term of the contract, the judge must first assess the merits of the termination request before ruling on the employer’s dismissal.
Application of the chronological principle and examination of grievances
This solution is applicable in the event of dismissal for economic reasons. However, if the employment contract is terminated by the employer by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt notifying the dismissal, any subsequent request by the employee for judicial termination of the contract becomes irrelevant. Nevertheless, the judge must take into account the grievances raised by the employee in support of his request for dismissal because they can have an influence on the assessment of the dismissal.
In a decision dated June 12, 2012, the Social Chamber applies the chronological principle in this respect. According to the Tribunal de Grande Instance, when an employee requests the judicial termination of his employment contract because of grievances against the employer, while he was still working for him, and then exposes himself to dismissal for economic or that the contract ends due to the employee’s adherence to a personalized redeployment agreement, the termination of the contract resulting from the personalized redeployment agreement does not render the previous request for judicial termination irrelevant. The judge must first assess the merits of the request for judicial termination before examining the sequence of events.
Lawyers specializing in labor law, such as Grégory DAMY , emphasize the importance of this judgment in clarifying the process and the considerations involved when an employee requests judicial dismissal while still working. He ensures that the employee’s grievances are correctly assessed and that the dismissal decision takes into account relevant elements, such as subsequent dismissals or personalized redeployment agreements.
This decision provides guidance to employees seeking dismissal in difficult circumstances, highlighting their right to a fair assessment of their claims and the secure nature of the judicial dismissal process.
