The non-renewal of a fixed-term contract for an occupational physician, upon its expiry, requires authorization from the labor inspector only when the contract contains a renewal clause. The French Supreme Court, in a ruling dated April 15, 2026 (no. 23-22.437), published in the Bulletin, acknowledges the amendments introduced by the law ratifying the so-called "Macron" ordinances of 2017.
III) Ruling.
The Court of Cassation quashes and sets aside the judgment of the Nancy Court of Appeal, citing Article L.4623-5-1 of the French Labor Code, as amended by Law No. 2011-867 of July 20, 2011, and Article L.4623-5-2 of the same Code, except insofar as it overturned the judgment of the labor court.
"In so ruling, when the employee's fixed-term contract did not contain a renewal clause and its expiry date was after the entry into force of the Law of March 29, 2018, which meant that the labor inspector did not need to be consulted to authorize the termination of the contract upon its expiry and that it was therefore incumbent upon the civil courts to rule on the request for reclassification of the fixed-term contract as an open-ended contract, the Court of Appeal violated the aforementioned provisions." »
IV) Analysis.
Under Articles L. 4623-4 to L. 4623-8 of the French Labor Code, occupational physicians benefit from protection that requires the approval of the labor inspector for any dismissal measure and, in certain cases, for the non-renewal of a fixed-term employment contract.
Law No. 2018-217 of March 29, 2018, ratifying the 2017 Ordinances known as the "Macron" Ordinances, removed this protection for members of the employee delegation of the Works Council (CSE) and inter-company Works Councils, as well as for employee representatives [1].
For these employees, the authorization of the labor inspector is no longer required in the event of the termination of a fixed-term contract.
Similarly, Article L.2412-2 of the French Labor Code stipulates that, for union representatives, the non-renewal of a fixed-term contract (CDD) upon its expiry is subject to the authorization of the labor inspector, when the CDD includes a renewal clause.
However, no amendment had been made concerning occupational physicians; the labor inspector's authorization was still required to verify the absence of any link between the non-renewal of the CDD and the occupational physician's duties or any form of discrimination.
From now on, when an occupational physician's CDD expires and the fixed-term contract did not include a renewal clause, the labor inspector's authorization is no longer required. The Court of Cassation has aligned the protective regime for occupational physicians with that of employee representatives.
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Frédéric CHHUM avocat et ancien membre du conseil de l’ordre des avocats de Paris (mandat 2019-2021)
Audrey PEYNAUD juriste
CHHUM AVOCATS (Paris, Nantes, Lille)
e-mail: chhum@chhum-avocats.com
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