Ending a home employment contract in France, correctly
AdminLanding Editorial
A particulier employeur does not follow the Code du travail dismissal procedure: the convention collective IDCC 3239 sets its own steps, notice periods and indemnities (art. 161 to 163 for a home employee, art. 119 to 121 for an assistant maternel). This page states each rule with its article, so that the contract ends the way the convention provides for both parties.
The rules in one minute
- Convocation to the entretien préalable by LRAR or hand delivery against signature, stating object, date and place — art. 161.1.1.1.
- Entretien from the 4th jour ouvrable counted from the day after presentation or handover; notification by LRAR — never handed over — between the 4th and the 30th jour ouvrable after the entretien; a period ending on a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday runs to the next jour ouvrable — art. 161.1.1.1.
- Pregnancy and maternity — CCN 3239 art. 48.1.2.1 attaches to these periods the specific protection of the ordinary law; under C. trav. art. L.1225-4 no employer may end the contract during a medically attested pregnancy, the maternity leave, the paid leave taken right after it and the ten weeks that follow, except for a faute grave unrelated to the pregnancy or an impossibility to keep the contract for a reason unrelated to the pregnancy or the birth.
- Notice: 1 week, 1 month or 2 months by seniority on the day the letter is sent — art. 162.4.1, 162.1. Indemnity from 8 months of seniority — art. 163.1.
- Assistant maternel: no dismissal and no interview — the employer withdraws the child by LRAR or handover against a receipt, notice of 8 calendar days, 15 calendar days or 1 month — art. 119.1 and 120; indemnité de rupture from 9 months — art. 121.1.
The procedure for a salarié du particulier employeur
This applies to every home employee covered by the socle spécifique « salarié du particulier employeur » of the CCN, including a garde d'enfant à domicile. Art. 161.1.1 states that the convention's dismissal rules replace the Code du travail procedure of art. L.1232-2 and following.
Step 1 — the convocation (art. 161.1.1.1)
The employer convenes the employee to an entretien préalable by registered letter or by hand delivery against a signed receipt. The letter states the object of the entretien, its date, its time and its place. The entretien may be held from the 4th jour ouvrable counted from the day after the letter is first presented or handed over; a period that would end on a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday runs to the next jour ouvrable.
Step 2 — the entretien (art. 161.1.1.1)
The entretien is held in person. During it, the employer states the motif or motifs considered and hears the employee's explanations. The convention requires the dismissal to rest on a cause réelle et sérieuse, or on a faute grave or faute lourde. The entretien is the moment where both parties hear each other before any decision is notified.
Step 3 — the notification (art. 161.1.1.1)
The decision is notified by LRAR, addressed to the employee's home — it is never handed over. The letter may be sent from the 4th jour ouvrable and at the latest on the 30th jour ouvrable counted from the day after the entretien (or from the day after its planned date if it did not take place); a period that would end on a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday runs to the next jour ouvrable. The seniority that sets the notice is counted on the day the letter is sent (art. 162.1); the notice period of art. 162.4.1 starts on the first presentation of this letter — that date is the reference for the end-of-contract calendar of both parties. After a faute grave or lourde, the contract ends on the day the letter is sent (art. 64.3).
The notice period (art. 162.4.1 and 162.6)
Seniority is counted under the same contract, on the day the letter is sent (art. 162.1). The dismissal notice column applies here; the resignation column is the one the employee applies when leaving on their own initiative (art. 162.6). No notice is due in case of faute grave or faute lourde, nor after a dismissal for unfitness (art. 161.1.3).
| Seniority (same contract) | Dismissal notice — art. 162.4.1 | Resignation notice — art. 162.6 |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 6 months | 1 week | 1 week |
| 6 months to less than 2 years | 1 month | 2 weeks |
| 2 years and more | 2 months | 1 month |
The seniority that sets the tier is counted on the day the letter is sent by registered post or handed over against a receipt (art. 162.1); the notice runs from the first presentation of the registered letter or from the handover (art. 162.4.1, 162.6). No notice after a faute grave or lourde, nor after a dismissal for unfitness (art. 161.1.3).
The indemnité de licenciement (art. 163.1)
Due from 8 months of seniority, except in case of faute grave or faute lourde. Amount: 1/4 of the average gross monthly salary per year of seniority up to 10 years, and 1/3 per year beyond 10 years. The reference salary is the more favourable of the average of the last 12 months or of the last 3 months. The indemnity is not salary and is exempt from contributions within the legal limits. The indemnité compensatrice de congés payés for untaken leave (CCN art. 67; C. trav. L.3141-28) is paid in addition, with the final pay.
Unfitness (art. 161.1.3, in force since 01/05/2026)
When the occupational physician declares the employee unfit and the employer cannot offer another job, the employer follows the dismissal procedure above within one month of the final opinion of unfitness; beyond that month, an employer who has not acted resumes paying the salary. The contract ends with no notice, on the day the letter is sent (art. 64.4). The art. 163.1 indemnity is due; it is doubled when the unfitness follows a work accident or an occupational disease.
The rupture conventionnelle (art. 161.3)
A home employee and the employer may end the contract by mutual agreement only by filling in the official form provided by the administration (CCN art. 161.3); the homologation request is made through the online service (C. trav. D.1237-3-1). The indemnity cannot be lower than the art. 163.1 indemnity. Each party has 15 calendar days to withdraw, counted from the day both parties sign that form (L.1237-13); the administration then has 15 jours ouvrables from the receipt of the request (L.1237-14), and a period that ends on a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday runs to the next jour ouvrable (R.1231-1). The contract ends at the earliest the day after homologation (L.1237-13). Not open to an assistant maternel (CASF art. L.423-2).
The platform's document is a preparation sheet of that form — what the parties agreed, the minimum indemnity and the calendar counted from the form's signature. It is not the agreement, it is not signed and it cannot be signed electronically: the agreement is the official form.
Death of the employer or of the child (art. 161.4.1, 161.4.2)
The death of the particulier employeur — or, for a contract made only to look after a child, the death of that child — ends the contract by operation of law on the day of the death. The employee receives the last salary, an indemnity equal to the notice pay, an indemnity calculated like the art. 163.1 indemnity and the paid-leave indemnity; the end-of-contract documents are handed over within 30 calendar days. AdminLanding generates no document for a death.
Assistant maternel: the retrait d'enfant (art. 119 to 121)
The socle spécifique « assistant maternel » does not use the dismissal procedure above: there is no convocation and no preliminary interview. Under art. 119.1, the parent-employer ends the contract by a retrait d'enfant notified by LRAR or handed over against a receipt. No motif is required; the retrait cannot rest on a discriminatory or unlawful ground. The notice runs from the first presentation or handover of the letter; its length follows how long the child has been received on the day the letter is sent or handed over (art. 120). A suspension, change or withdrawal of the approval imposes the withdrawal on the parties, notified the same way, with no notice and no indemnité de rupture (art. 119.3). Unfitness declared by the occupational physician ends the contract with no notice, notified within one month of the final opinion (art. 119.5).
| Time the child has been received | Notice (either party) — art. 120 |
|---|---|
| Less than 3 months | 8 calendar days |
| 3 months to less than 1 year | 15 calendar days |
| 1 year and more | 1 month |
Art. 120: no notice during the trial period, after a faute grave or lourde, or when the withdrawal is imposed on the parties (approval suspended, changed or withdrawn — art. 119.3); nor after unfitness (art. 119.5). The time the child has been received is counted on the day the letter is sent or handed over; the notice runs from the first presentation of the registered letter or from the handover.
Indemnité de rupture (art. 121.1): from 9 months of accueil, counted on the day the letter is sent, 1/80 of the total gross salaries paid during the contract, excluding the indemnités d'entretien, de repas and kilométriques. It is not due in case of faute grave or faute lourde, nor when the contract ends because the agrément is modified, suspended or withdrawn. When the unfitness follows a work accident or an occupational disease, it is 2/80 (art. 119.5). The rupture conventionnelle is not available for an assistant maternel (CASF art. L.423-2). The conventional minimum hourly wage per child since 01/06/2026 is €4.20 gross without the AM-AP title and €4.37 with it (CCN 3239 annexe 5); the statutory floor of CASF art. D.423-9 applies when it is higher.
The documents at the end of the contract
Whatever the way the contract ends, the same documents are produced by the employer from the CESU or Pajemploi account and received by the employee. The detail of each one is on the URSSAF end-of-contract documents page.
| Document | Who produces it | Who receives it | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certificat de travail (employment certificate) | The employer, from the CESU or Pajemploi account | The employee | CCN 3239 art. 69 |
| Reçu pour solde de tout compte (final settlement receipt) | The employer, listing the sums paid at the date the contract ends | The employee, who may sign it — once signed, it may be contested within the 6 months that follow the signature, for the sums it lists | CCN 3239 art. 69 |
| Attestation employeur France Travail | The employer, generated from the CESU or Pajemploi account | The employee, for the unemployment-benefit file | CCN 3239 art. 69 |
| Last payslip | Produced by CESU or Pajemploi once the last pay is declared — at the latest the 5th of the following month | The employee | CESU / Pajemploi declaration rules |
| Indemnité compensatrice de congés payés (untaken paid leave) | Paid by the employer with the final pay, for the leave not yet paid — none when the CESU hourly wage was raised by 10 % for paid leave | The employee | CCN 3239 art. 67, 140.1.2 · C. trav. art. L.3141-28 |
Quick answer
A particulier employeur ends a home employee's contract under the CCN IDCC 3239, not the Code du travail procedure (art. 161.1.1): convocation by LRAR or hand delivery, entretien from the 4th jour ouvrable, notification by LRAR — never handed over — between the 4th and the 30th jour ouvrable after the entretien (art. 161.1.1.1). The notice is 1 week, 1 month or 2 months by seniority on the day the letter is sent (art. 162.4.1, 162.1), the indemnity is due from 8 months of seniority (art. 163.1), and the certificat de travail, reçu pour solde de tout compte and attestation France Travail (CCN art. 69) are produced from the CESU or Pajemploi account. An assistant maternel is not dismissed: the contract ends by retrait d'enfant (art. 119.1), with no interview, a notice of 8 calendar days, 15 calendar days or 1 month (art. 120) and an indemnité de rupture from 9 months (art. 121.1).
At the same moment, on the other side
While the employer sends the convocation and then the notification, the employee receives each letter, attends the entretien and gives explanations, works the notice period, then receives the documents and may sign the reçu pour solde de tout compte — which, once signed, remains contestable for 6 months (CCN art. 69). The same articles govern both sides; the employee-side pages state them from that side.
Frequently Asked Questions
Procedure, notice, indemnity, rupture conventionnelle, assistant maternel.
Q.Does the Code du travail dismissal procedure apply to a particulier employeur?
Q.How long is the dismissal notice period for a home employee?
Q.When is an indemnité de licenciement due, and how much?
Q.Is a rupture conventionnelle possible with a home employee?
Q.How does the contract of an assistant maternel end?
Q.Can a particulier employeur retire a home employee?
Q.Who pays for the documents?
Q.Can the employee use it alone?
Q.Is the motif of the termination letter evaluated?
Q.What about pregnancy or maternity?
Q.How does the trial period end?
The rest of the relationship
Before it ends, a relationship runs: what is paid, what the contract must carry, what is declared every month.
Sources
- Convention collective nationale des particuliers employeurs et de l'emploi à domicile (IDCC 3239) — consolidated text on Légifrance: socle commun, socle spécifique « salarié du particulier employeur » (art. 161 to 163) and socle spécifique « assistant maternel » (art. 119 to 121).
- Avenant n° 10 du 5 février 2026 — arrêté d'extension du 4 mai 2026 (JO n° 0108, 8 mai 2026) — minimum wages of annexes 5 (assistant maternel) and 6 (salarié du particulier employeur), applicable from 1 June 2026.
- code.travail.gouv.fr — Code du travail numérique (Ministère du Travail): contribution pages for IDCC 3239 and the Code du travail articles cited on this page (L.1221-25, L.1221-26, L.3141-28, L.1237-13, L.1237-14, D.1237-3-1, R.1231-1).
- cesu.urssaf.fr / pajemploi.urssaf.fr — URSSAF services through which the particulier employeur declares pay and produces the end-of-contract documents.
Rules verified on 29/09/2026 on Légifrance and code.travail.gouv.fr (CCN 3239 articles read: 44.1.3, 63.2.1, 64.1, 64.2, 64.3, 64.4, 69, 119.1, 119.3, 119.5, 120, 121.1, 131.1, 161.1.1.1, 161.1.3, 161.3, 162.1, 162.4.1, 162.6, 163.1, avenant n° 10 annexes 5/6). Page published 24/08/2026, last updated 29/09/2026.
Important: AdminLanding is a technology platform, not a law firm. We do not practice law, provide legal advice, or act as lawyers (avocats), notaries (notaires), bailiffs (commissaires de justice), or any regulated legal professional as defined by French Law No. 71-1130 of December 31, 1971. This page states the published rules of the convention collective and the Code du travail, for information purposes only — it does not constitute personalized legal advice. Verify your situation with the official sources (code.travail.gouv.fr, Légifrance) or a qualified professional before acting.
Which procedure applies: for a particulier employeur, the dismissal procedure of the convention collective IDCC 3239 applies instead of the Code du travail procedure (CCN art. 161.1.1: the rules are those of the convention; art. 161.1.1.1: entretien préalable from the 4th jour ouvrable counted from the day after the first presentation or the handover of the convocation, then notification by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt from the 4th to the 30th jour ouvrable counted from the day after the entretien; a period that would end on a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday runs to the next jour ouvrable). The Code du travail reaches this sector only through the closed list of art. L.7221-2, which does not include the L.1232-2 procedure. An assistant maternel is not dismissed: the employer withdraws the child by a letter sent by registered post or handed over against a receipt, with no preliminary interview (CCN art. 119.1).
Documents for both parties — the 19 documents of the membership
Each document is issued in French with an English companion page, from fixed CCN 3239 templates; the figures come from the shared record of the relationship, so the employer and the employee always read the same dates and amounts.
Written by the employer (5)
- Invitation to the preliminary meeting — home employee only — art. 161.1.1.1: object, date, time and place of the entretien; sent by registered post or handed over against a receipt.
- Termination letter — home employee only — sent by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, never handed over (art. 161.1.1.1); the motif category chosen from a closed list and the facts as you write them; notice and indemnity come from the shared record (art. 162.4.1, 163.1).
- Withdrawal of the child (assistant maternel) — assistant maternel only — art. 119.1: the employer's decision, sent by registered post or handed over against a receipt, with no preliminary interview and no motif to state; also the withdrawal imposed by a decision on the approval (art. 119.3) and the ending for unfitness (art. 119.5).
- Notice waiver (employer's initiative) — art. 64.2 — the notice the employer does not want worked is paid: the compensatory notice indemnity remains due.
- Retirement letter (mise à la retraite) — home employee only — art. 161.1.2: the employer's decision, with the employee's agreement below the age of automatic retirement, without it from that age; sent by registered post or handed over against a receipt; the notice of a dismissal (art. 162.5) and the indemnity of art. 163.2, whatever the seniority.
Written by the employee (5)
- Request to waive the notice (new job) — art. 162.4.1 — a home employee who finds a job during a dismissal notice stops once the minimum part is worked; both parties are released from the rest.
- Resignation letter — the notice of art. 162.6 (or art. 120) comes from the shared record; sent by registered post or handed over against a receipt (art. 63.2.1).
- Departure to retirement (written information) — art. 63.2.2 — from the legal age of entitlement to a pension, the employee informs the employer in writing; the notice (art. 162.5, or art. 120) comes from the shared record; the voluntary retirement indemnity of annex 4 (art. 163.3, 121.2: 120 months in the branch, 60 of them in the last 84) is paid by the insurer, not by the employer (annex 4, art. 4.2).
- Request for the end-of-contract documents — certificat de travail, attestation France Travail, reçu pour solde de tout compte (CCN art. 69), last payslip.
- Reservations on the settlement receipt — each contested line next to the CCN figure, computed on the server from the shared record — never typed; the receipt is contested by registered letter (C. trav. D.1234-8) within the 6 months that follow its signature (CCN art. 69).
Written by either party (1)
- End of the trial period — art. 44.1.3 — in writing, at any time during the trial, at the initiative of either party; never once the trial is over, never a renewal the text does not provide (art. 95.1 for an assistant maternel). For a home employee, art. 131.1 is extended subject to C. trav. L.1221-25 and L.1221-26, which set a délai de prévenance.
Naming both parties (8)
- Preparation of the rupture conventionnelle form — home employee only — a preparation sheet of the official form (art. 161.3): what the parties agreed, the minimum indemnity and the calendar counted from the form's signature. Not the agreement, not signed, not e-signable.
- Settlement arithmetic check — the CCN amount next to the amount on the receipt — the same figures on both sides.
- URSSAF end-of-contract sheet — who produces which document, who receives it, through which channel (CESU / Pajemploi).
- Handover receipt (décharge) — art. 64.1 — the dated receipt of a letter handed over instead of sent by registered post, where the text allows it (convocation, resignation, withdrawal of the child); the handover date starts the notice. A dismissal letter is never handed over (art. 161.1.1.1).
- Notice waiver agreement (employee's request) — art. 64.2 — the employee asks, the employer accepts; the contract ends on the last worked day. Co-signed, electronic signature optional.
- Employment contract — the written contract drawn up from the terms of the shared record (art. 41.1; one contract per child for an assistant maternel, art. 90.1). Co-signed, electronic signature optional.
- Monthly summary — the hours both parties confirmed for one month and the figures to type on CESU or Pajemploi. Not a payslip: the payslip is issued by the service.
- Contract amendment — one change of the terms, accepted by both parties (C. civ. art. 1193); a change the other party has not accepted is printed as a proposal. Co-signed, electronic signature optional.
One relationship, two accounts. Whoever saves the calculation first invites the other party by e-mail (free). Both then see the same calendar — entretien, notification, end of notice, documents hand-over, settlement window — receive the same reminders, and see when the other party last opened the record. These acknowledgements show the record was opened; they are not a legal notification — the registered letter, or the handover against a signed receipt, remains the formality.
Every date says who declared it, and when. The start date, the notification date and every later change carry the stamp “declared by [employer or employee] on [DD/MM/YYYY]”, visible to both parties. A date entered today is dated today: nothing is backdated silently, and either party can compare the stamp with the registered-letter receipt.
Membership rule. The AdminLanding membership covers both parties: when one party is a member, the other party of the relationship pays nothing; an employee whose employer is not on the platform can take it for their own documents. €6 a month, renewed automatically every month; cancel any time from your account, effective at the end of the current monthly period. Electronic signature is optional — €1.50 per signer, credits shared across all your documents (Rental and Home employment). The calculator, the calendar, the reminders and the invitation stay free.
Documents verified against the CCN 3239 as of 29/09/2026 — articles read: 44.1.3, 63.2.1, 64.1, 64.2, 64.3, 64.4, 69, 119.1, 119.3, 119.5, 120, 121.1, 131.1, 161.1.1.1, 161.1.3, 161.3, 162.1, 162.4.1, 162.6, 163.1, avenant n° 10 annexes 5/6. Information only, not legal advice.
Calculate the dates and the amounts — free
Notice end date, end-of-contract indemnity, paid-leave indemnity and the documents hand-over calendar, computed from the rules of the convention collective IDCC 3239 for both parties. No account needed for the calculation.
Open the end-of-contract calculatorSave the dates to your account — reminders for the notice end, the documents hand-over and the settlement window (free). Documents: in the AdminLanding membership, for both parties.
Documents for both parties — in the membership
The AdminLanding membership opens the 19 documents of a relationship — 5 written by the employer, 5 by the employee, 1 by either party, 8 naming both — issued in French with an English companion page and placed in the Vault of both parties. When one party is a member, the other party pays nothing; an employee whose employer is not on the platform can take the membership for their own documents. €6 a month, renewed automatically every month; cancel any time from your account, effective at the end of the current monthly period.
Electronic signature optional — €1.50 per signer, credits shared across all your documents (Rental and Home employment). The calculator, the shared calendar, the reminders and the invitation stay free.
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