Indemnité de licenciement in France 2026 — legal minimum, conventional bonus, taxation

• The Article L1234-9 minimum
• Convention collective: where the real money is
• Taxation: the legal minimum is exempt, the rest may be taxed

The French Code du travail sets a clear floor for indemnité de licenciement, due for any non-disciplinary dismissal of an employee with at least 8 months of seniority: 1/4 of monthly gross per year of service for the first 10 years, then 1/3 per year above 10. A 12-year employee at €3,000/month gets approximately €9,500.

Reference salary is the BEST of: the average of the last 12 monthly grosses, OR the average of the last 3 monthly grosses prorated × 4. This protects employees with falling income (sick leave, partial activity, etc.).

The 8-month seniority threshold is calculated continuously from the start of the contract — periods of unpaid leave or sick leave above 6 months may interrupt the count.

Most French employees are covered by a CCN (Convention Collective Nationale) that grants severance ABOVE the legal minimum. The IT sector's Syntec convention typically gives 1/4 month per year capped at 12 months. Métallurgie may give more for senior engineers. Always check your CCN — search 'idcc XXXX' for your sector.

The CCN amount cannot be lower than the legal minimum. If your CCN gives less for a specific tenure bracket, you receive the legal minimum.

Some collective agreements (notably banking, insurance, large industrial groups) include 'rupture conventionnelle de groupe' frameworks that double or triple the standard amount in mass-departure plans.

The portion of indemnité equal to the legal minimum (or the convention collective floor) is exempt from income tax. Anything paid above is taxable as salary, but with the special 'régime de l'épargne fiscale' that allows you to spread the taxable portion over up to 4 years (option à l'étalement).

Severance up to the higher of (a) twice your prior annual remuneration, or (b) half the total severance, is also exempt from the CSG/CRDS social contributions for ordinary dismissals. The portion above is subject to social charges.

For 'rupture conventionnelle' (mutual termination), the same tax exemption applies up to the legal minimum. Above that, the taxable portion is added to your year's income normally.