How does France probation work in 2026?

What the periode d'essai modifies in a French CDI contract:

• Shorter notice to end the relationship. During probation, the employer gives 30 days if the employee has been in post for more than 3 months. For fewer than 3 months, notice scales down: 24 hours for less than 8 days in post, 48 hours from 8 days, 2 weeks from 1 month.
• Either party can end the trial without stating reasons. Unlike a post-probation dismissal, no formal cause is needed during the period d'essai. But the decision must not be discriminatory or retaliatory.
• Employer notice must be given before the period ends. If the employer waits until the last day without giving notice, the contract converts automatically to a confirmed CDI.

What probation does not change in France:

• Day-one discrimination protections. Ending a trial period because of pregnancy, union membership, disability, or whistleblower status is unlawful at any point.
• The right to join a trade union and exercise collective rights. These apply from day one.
• Social security affiliation. The employer must register the employee with URSSAF and Assurance Maladie from the date of hire, not after probation.
• The 35-hour working week (35 hours) and all working-time rules. The trial period does not grant any overtime exemption.

Critically: ending a trial period in France carries no requirement for the employer to give a formal reason. But the decision cannot be dishonest or abuse the right. French courts will look behind a probation termination if there are signs of discrimination or bad faith. The absence of a required reason is not the same as immunity from challenge.

Probation length by classification under French CDI rules (Code du travail art. L1221-19):

The renewal of a cadre probation requires the employee's express agreement in writing. The employer cannot extend unilaterally. A renewal granted without written employee consent has no legal effect: the probation is treated as having ended at the initial expiry.

Sector collective bargaining agreements (conventions collectives) can set shorter maximums than the Code du travail. They cannot exceed the statutory caps above. In practice, many conventions fix shorter periods. The applicable convention collective for the hire must be checked before setting the probation length in the contract.

One further constraint: the trial period must be written into the original CDI at the time of signing. It cannot be added later. If the contract is silent on probation, there is no trial period.

The procedural requirements when ending a French probation period:

1. Give notice before the period ends. The notice must be given inside the trial period window, not on the last day. If the employer gives notice on the final day and the notice period extends beyond the trial end date, the contract is still terminated at the end of the notice period. But giving no notice before expiry converts the contract to a confirmed CDI.
2. Calculate notice correctly by tenure in post. Under 8 days in post: 24 hours. From 8 days to 1 month: 48 hours. From 1 month to 3 months: 2 weeks. Over 3 months: 30 days.
3. Do not give a discriminatory reason (or let one be inferred). You are not required to state a reason. But if a dismissed employee later claims discrimination, a court can look at the circumstances. Keep documentation of performance concerns if they exist.
4. Do not confuse probation termination with disciplinary dismissal. If the reason for ending probation is actually a conduct issue (theft, gross misconduct), the dismissal procedure for cause (motif reel et serieux) applies instead. Using probation to avoid that procedure is an abuse of right.
5. Confirm in writing. Send a letter or email. Record the date notice was given and the last day of employment.

The bareme Macron compensation scale applies from the very first month of service in France. There is no UK-style qualifying period before a dismissed employee can claim compensation. For employment under 1 year, the bareme sets a maximum, not a minimum. But the risk of a challenge at the conseil de prud'hommes (employment tribunal) is present from day one.

1. Set the clause at signing

   Write the trial period into the CDI at the moment of hire. The length must match the employee's classification and the applicable convention collective. It cannot be added after the contract is signed.

2. File DPAE before day one

   Submit the Declaration Prealable a l'Embauche to URSSAF before the employee's first day. This is a legal employer obligation and a Teamed-handled step.

3. Hold a review at the midpoint

   Document the conversation in writing. If concerns exist, raise them now. Keeping performance issues off the record and then acting at the end of probation weakens the employer's position.

4. Give notice before the period ends

   Calculate notice by tenure in post and give it inside the trial window. Waiting until the last day risks the notice period running beyond the expiry, converting the contract to a confirmed CDI.

5. Confirm the outcome in writing

   Whether the trial ends, confirms, or is renewed (cadres only), send a written record. For a renewal, both parties must sign before the initial period expires.

Renewal conditions by classification:

• Ouvriers and employes: No renewal permitted. The maximum is fixed at 2 months. The contract confirms or ends at that point.
• Agents de maitrise: One renewal permitted, bringing the total to 6 months. Written employee agreement required.
• Cadres: One renewal permitted, bringing the total to 8 months. Written employee agreement required.

Common pitfalls with French probation renewal:

• The renewal must be agreed before the initial probation expires. A retrospective extension agreed after the expiry date has no legal effect.
• The agreement must be written. A verbal agreement or a side note in an email exchange is not sufficient. Both parties should sign a formal amendment to the contract.
• The employer cannot cite external factors alone as grounds for renewal. The purpose must be to complete a genuine performance assessment that the initial period did not allow time to complete.

What happens if the probation is not properly closed: if the employer neither terminates nor obtains a written renewal before the trial period expires, the employee automatically becomes a confirmed CDI employee. The employer then loses the right to end the contract without cause and without following the full dismissal procedure. This is a common and costly error.

For workers and administrative staff, the probation review should happen by day 55 to 58. That leaves time to give 30 days of notice before the 2 months trial window closes, if the decision is to end the employment. Waiting until day 60 and then giving notice means the notice period runs beyond the trial end, which is legally permissible but operationally awkward.

For cadres on the full 8 months with renewal, the 30-60-90 framework covers phase 1. A second phase from day 90 to day 240 handles the extended assessment. Each phase needs its own documented review meeting.

Onboarding admin to complete on or before day one in France:

• DPAE (Declaration Prealable a l'Embauche) filed with URSSAF before the first day of work.
• Remittance of the signed contrat de travail (written contract is mandatory in France for CDI; verbal contracts have no force).
• Affiliation to the applicable regime complementaire for pension (AGIRC-ARRCO) and provident fund (prevoyance) schemes.
• Employee informed of the applicable convention collective and given access to its text.
• Provision of the employee information document (notice d'information) required by law.

Real HR and legal experts handle your France hires from the first offer letter through every trial-period review and onboarding step. An actual person, not a chatbot or a pooled queue. There is no setup fee and no exit fee. Employer cost passes through at cost, itemised on every invoice.

Teamed's standard France service for probation and onboarding:

• CDI contract includes the correct trial period clause for the employee's classification (worker, agent de maitrise, or cadre), set within the statutory cap of 2 months to 8 months as appropriate
• DPAE filing with URSSAF completed before day one. The employer-of-record obligation sits with Teamed.
• Convention collective identified and applied from the first contract. The applicable CBA affects not only notice but also trial period length and minimum salary.
• Trial period review templates provided at the midpoint of the trial and at the pre-decision checkpoint
• If ending the trial: Teamed issues the correct notice, calculated by tenure in post, and confirms the last working day in writing
• If renewing a cadre trial: Teamed prepares the written renewal agreement and obtains the employee's countersignature before the initial expiry

The split is clear. The client owns the performance assessment and the confirmation decision. Teamed owns the contract structure, the filings, the notice calculation, and the documentation. That combination keeps probation exits clean and legally sound in a civil-law system where the paperwork matters.

Key sources: Service-Public: Trial period, Code du travail.