Employment: templates and forms

A rupture conventionnelle is concluded and approved free of charge online, through the French labour ministry's TéléRC service, and the ministry's site code.travail.gouv.fr has a free model request for a meeting; this document is only the letter that proposes one. For an employee on an open-ended contract (CDI) in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte, it asks for a meeting with a view to ending the contract by mutual agreement (articles L. 1237-11 to L. 1237-16 of the Labour Code), without amounting to a resignation, and can give a preferred end date. Send it by registered post with proof of receipt or hand it over against a receipt. In French.

The French labour ministry's site code.travail.gouv.fr offers a free model resignation letter. This document is a resignation letter for an employee on an open-ended contract (CDI) in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte: it gives notice of resignation, refers to the notice period set by the collective agreement, the contract or custom, can ask to be released from working it, and asks for the end-of-employment documents. French law prescribes no form; send it by registered post with proof of receipt or hand it over against a signed receipt, to prove the day the notice starts. In French.

A request from an employee in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte to suspend the contract without pay: unpaid leave (congé sans solde), which the employer is free to grant, a sabbatical (articles L. 3142-28 et seq. of the French Labour Code) or leave to set up or take over a business (articles L. 3142-105 et seq.). It gives the dates and, where relevant, the reason or the business's activity. For the two statutory leaves, send it at least three months (sabbatical) or two months (start-up) ahead, in a way that proves the date (registered post with proof of receipt, or hand delivery against a receipt), unless a collective agreement says otherwise. In French.

A full-time open-ended employment contract (CDI) for a job in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte: post and category, place of work, probation period and its renewal within articles L. 1221-19 to L. 1221-21 of the French Labour Code, 35 hours a week, pay, paid leave, notice, collective agreement, supplementary pension and provident bodies, and the other information an employee must be given (decree no. 2023-1004 of 30 October 2023). No non-compete or mobility clause. Signed in two originals. In French.

A letter from an employee in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte to a current or former employer, claiming unpaid wages, bonuses or overtime: it sets out the amounts month by month, refers to the overtime premium (articles L. 3121-28 and L. 3121-36 of the Labour Code) and gives a payment deadline before the employment tribunal (conseil de prud'hommes) is seised. Pay claims become time-barred after three years (article L. 3245-1). Send it by registered post with proof of receipt. In French.

A letter for a former employee in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte who wants to denounce the final-settlement receipt (reçu pour solde de tout compte) signed at the end of the contract. Sent within six months of signing, it stops the receipt from discharging the employer from the amounts listed in it (article L. 1234-20 of the Labour Code), and can name the amounts disputed. The withdrawal goes by registered post (article D. 1234-8 of the Labour Code) and the six months run from signing: use proof of receipt and send it early enough to arrive in time. In French.

The French labour ministry's site code.travail.gouv.fr offers free model letters ending the probation period, for the employee and for the employer. This document is a letter by which the employer or the employee ends the employment contract during the probation period (période d'essai) in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte: it says who is ending it, refers to the notice period of article L. 1221-25 (employer) or L. 1221-26 (employee) of the Labour Code and gives the end date. No reason has to be given. Hand it over against a signed receipt or send it by registered post with proof of receipt, before the probation period ends. In French.

A letter for an employee whose contract has ended in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte and who has not received the documents due: the certificat de travail (article L. 1234-19 of the Labour Code), the certificate for France Travail, the public employment service (article R. 1234-9), and the final-settlement receipt (article L. 1234-20). It lists what is missing, sets a deadline and says that, failing that, the employment tribunal's urgent-applications judge will be asked to order it. Send it by registered post with proof of receipt. In French.

A letter for an employee dismissed in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte, asking the employer to make precise the reasons given in the dismissal letter (articles L. 1235-2 and R. 1232-13 or R. 1233-2-2 of the Labour Code). It must go within fifteen days of being notified of the dismissal, by registered post with proof of receipt or by hand against a receipt; the employer then has fifteen days to answer. A standard form: it does not challenge the dismissal and does not replace an application to the employment tribunal. In French.

An amendment to an employment contract that sets up regular telework for an employee in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte, under the collective agreement, the company's telework charter or a simple agreement between the parties (article L. 1222-9 of the French Labour Code): days, place, hours when the employee can be reached, equipment, costs, the right to disconnect, reversibility and equal rights. An employee can propose it to the employer with a request. Signed in two originals. In French.

A confidentiality agreement signed by an employer and an employee in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte, on hiring or during the contract: it defines confidential information, forbids disclosing or using it outside work, during the contract and for a chosen period after it ends, and provides for documents to be returned. It also protects trade secrets (articles L. 151-1 et seq. of the French Commercial Code). It contains no non-compete clause and preserves the rights of whistleblowers and staff representatives. Signed in two originals. In French.

For an employee on sick leave in mainland France or the overseas departments other than Mayotte: the letter that goes with part 3 of the French sick note (avis d’arrêt de travail), the part meant for the employer. In French under French law, it says whether this is a first note or an extension, gives its dates and asks the employer to send the pay details to the health insurer. The note itself is the secured form the doctor completes. Sold blank, to complete by hand, as it holds health data DocMuse does not collect.

A standard full-time fixed-term employment contract (CDD) for mainland France and the overseas departments other than Mayotte, limited to the two commonest grounds: replacing an absent employee or a temporary increase in activity (article L. 1242-2 of the French Labour Code). It contains the particulars of article L. 1242-12 — precise ground, end date, post, probation, pay, collective agreement, supplementary pension and provident bodies — and the 10 % end-of-contract payment. A CDD without a precise and true ground is deemed open-ended. Give it to the employee within two working days of hiring. In French.

A letter for an employed parent in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte, telling the employer that they are taking parental leave (congé parental d'éducation), full-time or as part-time work (articles L. 1225-47 and L. 1225-50 of the French Labour Code), or the additional birth leave available since 1 July 2026 (congé supplémentaire de naissance, articles L. 1225-46-2 et seq.; decree no. 2026-419 of 30 May 2026). These leaves are a right once the conditions are met: the letter sets the dates, and the law calls for registered post with proof of receipt or hand delivery against a receipt. In French.

A paid-leave request from an employee to the employer in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte: first and last day, the number of days counted in jours ouvrables or jours ouvrés, the date of return, and room for the employer's signed agreement. Leave is earned at two and a half jours ouvrables per month worked (article L. 3141-3 of the French Labour Code); the employer sets the order in which staff take it. An e-mail often does; the letter keeps a written record of the agreement. In French.

A letter by which the employed father, or the mother's employed spouse, civil partner (PACS) or cohabiting partner, tells the employer the expected date of birth and the dates of paternity and childcare leave (congé de paternité et d'accueil de l'enfant, article L. 1225-35 of the French Labour Code) in mainland France or an overseas department other than Mayotte: four compulsory days after the birth leave, then twenty-one days (twenty-eight for multiple births) in one or two periods within six months. Send it at least one month ahead, by registered post with proof of receipt or against a receipt. In French.