French employment law - Transfer Clause - Journalists - Editor-in-Chief Awarded €40,000 Provisional Payment on Appeal Under His Transfer Clause (CA Paris, June 4th, 26)
In a judgment dated June 4th, 2026, the Paris Court of Appeal overturned the lower court's decision.
The Paris Court of Appeal:
Declared that the termination of the contract resulted from the application of Article L.7112-5, 1° of the French Labor Code,
Ordered Company Y to pay Mr. X the sum of €40,000 as a provisional payment towards the severance pay to be determined by the arbitration panel under Article L.7112-4 of the French Labor Code,
Orders the issuance of a corrected payslip, as well as a certificate of employment and a certificate for Pôle emploi (now France travail), in accordance with the provisions of this judgment, without the imposition of a penalty payment appearing necessary;
Orders Company Y to pay the costs of both the initial proceedings and the appeal;
Orders Company Y to pay Mr. X the sum of €2,000 pursuant to Article 700 of the Code of Civil Procedure;
Dismisses Company Y's claim pursuant to Article 700 of the Code of Civil Procedure;
Dismisses Mr. X's claim for interest.
1) REASONS
1.1) Regarding the termination of the employment contract and the application of Article L.7112-5, 1° of the French Labor Code
According to Article L.7112-5 of the French Labor Code:
"If the termination of the employment contract is initiated by the professional journalist, the provisions of Articles L.7112-3 and L.7112-4 shall apply, when this termination is due to one of the following circumstances:
1° Sale of the newspaper or periodical;
2° Cessation of publication of the newspaper or periodical for any reason whatsoever;
3. Significant change in the nature or orientation of the newspaper or periodical if this change creates a situation for the employee likely to damage their reputation.
to their reputation or, more generally, to their moral interests. In these cases, the employee who terminates the contract is not required to observe the notice period stipulated in Article L.7112-2.
For the provisions of Article L.7112-5 of the French Labor Code to be invoked,
the professional journalist must establish that the termination of the employment contract is motivated by one of the circumstances listed. This article does not, however, impose a deadline for implementing the transfer clause.
In this case, Mr. X argues that he clearly and unequivocally indicated on three occasions, in his letters of August 30, 2021, September 21, 2021, and November 4, 2021, that he wished to terminate the contract. of work pursuant to the transfer clause of Article L.7112-5, 1° of the French Labor Code. He adds that there is no time limit for implementing this clause, according to established case law, and that this provision imposes no conditions other than the termination being justified by the transfer, which is the case here, given the correspondence provided.
The employer contests the application of Article L.7112-5, 1° of the French Labor Code, arguing that it requires proof of a causal link between the termination of the contract and the transfer, which the employee has not provided.
He indicates that, in fact, the termination occurred on August 30, 2021, 24 months after the transfer in October 2019, and that in the interim, the employee accepted a promotion to the position of editor-in-chief, formalized by an addendum dated March 31, 2021.
He adds that the employee actually He sought to take advantage of the "windfall" of the sale nearly two years later, when the real reason for his departure was his desire to leave the company and join a competing publication, a new position he took up in January 2022.
In this regard, the court notes that the employee explicitly stated in three successive letters his clear and unequivocal intention to terminate his contract due to the sale, based on Article L.7112-5, 1° of the French Labor Code. Furthermore, the employee expressed his intention to leave the company less than two years after the sale, despite having 20 years of seniority.
These elements are sufficient to establish the causal link between the termination and the sale, as no other reason was invoked by the employee, and the employer failed to demonstrate that any other factor motivated this termination. Indeed, while the employee did join another company, it was in January 2022. that is, four months after the initial expression of intent to implement the transfer clause in August 2021, and no other evidence suggests that the termination had any other cause.
Consequently, the appealed judgment should be amended on this point, and it should be held that the termination of the contract resulted from the application of Article L.7112-5, 1° of the French Labor Code, as requested by the employee.
1.2) Regarding severance pay
Since the termination of the employment contract was based on Article L.7112-5, 1° of the French Labor Code, the employer owes the employee severance pay pursuant to Articles L.7112-3 and L.7112-4 of the French Labor Code.
When the employee has less than 15 years of service, Article L.7112-3 of the French Labor Code provides for severance pay that cannot be less than the amount representing one month's salary for each year or fraction thereof of service. Salary, with a maximum of fifteen monthly payments.
When an employee has more than 15 years of service, an arbitration board is convened to determine the compensation due under Article L.7112-4 of the French Labor Code.
The arbitration board's decision is binding and cannot be appealed.
The arbitration board has exclusive jurisdiction to rule on the compensation, but the labor court first seized may award an advance payment against the amount of this compensation.
In this case, Mr. X, aged 46 at the time of termination, had 20 years of seniority with the company and is therefore subject to the assessment of compensation by the arbitration board under Article L.7112-4 of the French Labor Code.
He requests an advance payment of €68,379.15 against the compensation to be determined by the arbitration board, noting that his average gross monthly salary was €4,400.
In light of these factors, he should be awarded an advance payment of €40,000 against the compensation to be determined by the board, and the judgment is reversed on this point.
To read the full article, click on the link below.
Frédéric CHHUM avocat et ancien membre du conseil de l’ordre des avocats de Paris (mandat 2019-2021)
CHHUM AVOCATS (Paris, Nantes, Lille)
https://www.instagram.com/fredericchhum/?hl=fr
.Paris: 34 rue Petrelle 75009 Paris tel: 0142560300
Nantes: 41, Quai de la Fosse 44000 Nantes tel: 0228442644
Lille: : 45, Rue Saint Etienne 59000 Lille – Ligne directe +(33) 03.20.57.53.24
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