# French — Employment Sub-Lexicon

Auto-generated from translation experience. Maps French employment and labor law terms to
their correct English equivalents.

## Core Employment Terms

| French | English |
|---|---|
| contrat de travail | employment contract / contract of employment |
| contrat de travail à durée indéterminée (CDI) | permanent employment contract / indefinite-term contract |
| contrat de travail à durée déterminée (CDD) | fixed-term employment contract |
| contrat d'intérim / contrat de travail temporaire | temporary employment contract / agency contract |
| contrat d'apprentissage | apprenticeship contract |
| contrat de professionnalisation | vocational training contract |
| employeur | employer |
| salarié / employé | employee |
| cadre | executive / senior employee / managerial staff |
| non-cadre | non-executive / non-managerial staff |
| cadre dirigeant | senior executive (exempt from working time rules) |
| agent de maîtrise | supervisor / middle manager |
| ouvrier | manual worker / blue-collar worker |
| période d'essai | probationary period / trial period |
| renouvellement de la période d'essai | extension of the probationary period |
| rupture de la période d'essai | termination during the probationary period |
| durée du travail | working time |
| durée légale du travail (35 heures) | statutory working week (35 hours) |
| forfait jours | fixed number of working days per year (day-based working time) |
| forfait heures | fixed number of hours per year |
| temps partiel | part-time |
| temps plein | full-time |
| télétravail | remote working / teleworking |
| lieu de travail | place of work |
| clause de mobilité | mobility clause |

## Remuneration Terms

| French | English |
|---|---|
| rémunération / salaire | remuneration / salary |
| salaire brut | gross salary |
| salaire net | net salary |
| salaire de base | basic salary / base salary |
| salaire minimum interprofessionnel de croissance (SMIC) | statutory minimum wage (SMIC) |
| prime | bonus / allowance |
| prime d'ancienneté | seniority bonus / long-service bonus |
| treizième mois | thirteenth-month payment |
| participation (aux bénéfices) | profit-sharing (statutory) |
| intéressement | incentive scheme / discretionary profit-sharing |
| plan d'épargne entreprise (PEE) | company savings plan |
| stock-options / options de souscription d'actions | stock options / share options |
| actions gratuites / attributions gratuites d'actions | free shares / restricted stock units |
| avantages en nature | benefits in kind |
| véhicule de fonction | company car |
| titres-restaurant | meal vouchers |
| cotisations sociales patronales | employer's social security contributions |
| cotisations sociales salariales | employee's social security contributions |
| charges sociales | social charges / social security contributions |
| bulletin de paie / fiche de paie | payslip |

## Termination Terms

| French | English |
|---|---|
| licenciement | dismissal / termination of employment |
| licenciement pour motif personnel | dismissal for personal reasons |
| licenciement pour faute (simple, grave, lourde) | dismissal for misconduct (simple, gross, willful) |
| licenciement pour insuffisance professionnelle | dismissal for poor performance |
| licenciement pour motif économique | redundancy / economic dismissal |
| licenciement collectif / plan de sauvegarde de l'emploi (PSE) | collective redundancy / social plan |
| rupture conventionnelle collective | collective mutual termination |
| démission | resignation |
| prise d'acte de la rupture | constructive dismissal (employee-initiated) |
| résiliation judiciaire | judicial termination |
| mise à la retraite | compulsory retirement |
| départ à la retraite | voluntary retirement |
| préavis | notice period |
| indemnité de préavis | payment in lieu of notice |
| indemnité compensatrice de congés payés | payment in lieu of accrued holiday |
| solde de tout compte | final settlement / terminal payment |
| reçu pour solde de tout compte | final settlement receipt |
| transaction (post-licenciement) | settlement agreement (post-termination) |
| certificat de travail | employment certificate |
| attestation Pôle emploi / attestation France Travail | unemployment certificate |
| clause de non-concurrence | post-termination non-compete clause |
| clause de non-sollicitation | non-solicitation clause |
| clause de dédit-formation | training cost repayment clause |

## Collective Labor Law

| French | English |
|---|---|
| convention collective (nationale) | collective bargaining agreement (national) |
| accord d'entreprise | company-level agreement |
| accord de branche | sector-level agreement |
| négociation annuelle obligatoire (NAO) | annual mandatory bargaining |
| comité social et économique (CSE) | works council / employee representative body (CSE) |
| délégué syndical | trade union representative |
| représentant du personnel | employee representative |
| droit de grève | right to strike |
| grève | strike |
| lock-out | lockout |
| inspection du travail | labor inspectorate |
| conseil de prud'hommes | employment tribunal / labor court |
| harcèlement moral | workplace bullying / psychological harassment |
| harcèlement sexuel | sexual harassment |
| discrimination | discrimination |

## Secondment and International Mobility

| French | English |
|---|---|
| détachement (droit du travail) | posting (of workers) / secondment |
| expatriation | expatriation / international assignment |
| avenant de détachement | secondment agreement / assignment letter |
| pays d'origine | home country |
| pays d'accueil | host country |
| droit applicable au contrat de travail | applicable law of the employment contract |
| protection sociale | social security coverage |
| certificat A1 | A1 certificate (EU social security) |
| régime de sécurité sociale | social security scheme |
| égalisation fiscale | tax equalization |

## Section Headings

| French | English |
|---|---|
| FONCTIONS ET ATTRIBUTIONS | DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES |
| RÉMUNÉRATION | REMUNERATION |
| CONGÉS | LEAVE / HOLIDAYS |
| CONFIDENTIALITÉ | CONFIDENTIALITY |
| PROPRIÉTÉ INTELLECTUELLE | INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY |
| RÉSILIATION | TERMINATION |
| DISPOSITIONS DIVERSES | MISCELLANEOUS |

## Notes

- **"Rupture conventionnelle"**: A specifically French mechanism (Art. L. 1237-11 Code du
  travail) allowing employer and employee to agree to terminate the CDI by mutual consent,
  with mandatory approval by the labor inspectorate (DIRECCTE/DREETS). The employee
  receives a severance indemnity and is eligible for unemployment benefits. No direct
  common law equivalent. Translate as "mutual termination" or "negotiated termination"
  with a context note.
- **"Cadre"**: A legal category in French employment law with specific rules on working
  time, notice periods, and social security contributions. Translate as "executive" or
  "managerial staff" — not "framework" (which is the literal meaning).
- **"Forfait jours"**: A working time arrangement available only to cadres and certain
  autonomous employees, where working time is measured in days per year (max. 218) rather
  than hours. No English equivalent. Translate descriptively.
- **"Conseil de prud'hommes"**: The specialized French labor court. Translate as
  "employment tribunal" (UK) or "labor court" (US default). Not "industrial tribunal" (outdated UK term).
- **"Licenciement pour faute lourde"**: The most severe form of dismissal in French law —
  for intentional and particularly serious misconduct. The employee loses the right to
  notice period and severance pay. Translate as "dismissal for willful misconduct" or
  "summary dismissal for gross misconduct".

## Additional Lawlinguists-validated French Employment Mappings

| French | English |
|---|---|
| Code du travail | French Labor Code |
| contrat à durée indéterminée (CDI) | permanent employment contract |
| contrat à durée déterminée (CDD) | fixed-term employment contract |
| contrat de travail temporaire (intérim) | temporary-agency employment contract |
| convention collective | collective bargaining agreement |
| cadre / non-cadre | executive / non-executive employee (French statutory distinction with different regimes) |
| forfait-jours | day-based working-time arrangement (specific French regime for executive-level employees) |
| durée légale du travail | statutory working time (35 hours/week since Loi Aubry) |
| heures supplémentaires | overtime hours |
| congés payés | paid leave (5 weeks statutory minimum) |
| RTT (Réduction du Temps de Travail) | working-time reduction days |
| CSE (Comité Social et Économique) | Social and Economic Committee (replaced DP/CE/CHSCT in 2017) |
| PSE (Plan de Sauvegarde de l'Emploi) | employment protection plan (required for collective dismissals ≥10 employees in 30 days in establishments ≥50 employees) |
| licenciement pour faute simple / grave / lourde | dismissal for simple / serious / gross misconduct |
| licenciement collectif | collective dismissal |
| entretien préalable | pre-dismissal interview (mandatory) |
| indemnité de licenciement | statutory dismissal indemnity (minimum 1/4 month per year of service under 10 years; 1/3 above) |
| indemnité conventionnelle | contractual / collective-agreement indemnity |
| indemnité transactionnelle | settlement indemnity |
| rupture conventionnelle | mutually-agreed termination (unique French mechanism — Loi du 25 juin 2008; equivalent to resignation with benefits) |
| convention de forfait | lump-sum salary agreement |
| contrepartie financière (non-concurrence) | financial consideration for non-compete (mandatory under French case law) |
| conseil de prud'hommes (CPH) | labor court (specialized French labor jurisdiction — bipartite with employer/employee judges) |
| prud'homal (procédure) | labor-court procedure |
| bureau de conciliation et d'orientation (BCO) | conciliation and orientation bureau (first stage of prud'hommes proceedings) |
| barème Macron | Macron scale (statutory compensation scale for unfair dismissal — Ordonnance 2017-1387) |
| France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) | France Travail (French national employment agency — rebranded January 2024) |
| ARE (Allocation d'Aide au Retour à l'Emploi) | unemployment benefit |
| URSSAF | French social security contributions collection agency |
| DIRECCTE / DREETS | Regional Directorate for Economy, Employment, Labor and Solidarity (DREETS replaced DIRECCTE in April 2021) |
| médecine du travail | occupational health service |
| DPAE (Déclaration Préalable À l'Embauche) | pre-hiring declaration |
| BDESE (Base de Données Économiques, Sociales et Environnementales) | Economic, Social and Environmental Database (replaced BDES in 2022) |
| égalité professionnelle | professional equality (gender pay gap obligations — Index Pénicaud since 2019) |
| RGPD au travail | GDPR in the workplace |
| titre-restaurant | meal voucher |
| mutuelle | supplementary health insurance |
| prévoyance | supplementary disability / death insurance |
| régime de retraite complémentaire (AGIRC-ARRCO) | supplementary pension scheme |
