An employee has a period of three months as from notification by the employer of the reasons for the said unilateral and substantial change detrimental to the employee in order:
- either to bring legal proceedings against his employer in order to secure re-classification of the change into a dismissal with notice (which necessitates a declaration by the competent courts that the change is unjustified), giving rise to the same consequences as an unfair dismissal;
- or to lodge a complaint against the said change, whereupon the complainant causes a new time limit of one year to start running for commencing legal proceedings.
In a case of 16 June 2016, the Court of Appeal had an opportunity to make it clear that, pursuant to Article L. 124-11, paragraph 2, of the Labour Code, the three-month limitation period for initiating legal proceedings against the employer in order to secure re-classification of the change into an unfair dismissal, triggering the running afresh of the time-limit of one year for bringing an action, commences as from notification by the employer of the reasons for the unilateral and substantial change detrimental to the employee.
Thus, it is settled case law that “only a complaint submitted after reasons are given and before expiry of the 3-month period provided for in Article L. 124-11, paragraph 2, of the Labour Code, can interrupt the running of the initial limitation period, in so far as interruption of the limitation period presupposes that the time limit has started to run”.