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prise d’acte

English translation: "[employees'] acknowledgement [of the contract termination"]

20:29 Oct 14, 2010
French to English translations [PRO]
Law/Patents - Law: Contract(s)
French term or phrase: prise d’acte
analysis of employer's position following resignation of an employee:

En terme juridique, cette démission s’analyse en une "prise d’acte de rupture du contrat de travail à l’initiative du salarié et aux torts de l’employeur".

"prendre acte" I have as "take cognizance"... so may this be "formal declaration" or sthg? The entire phrase in quotes can be found in several locations by googling, but the translation of the start of it eludes me.
Mpoma
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:28
English translation:"[employees'] acknowledgement [of the contract termination"]
Explanation:
"employees' acknowledgement of the contract termination" ("prise d'acte de rupture du contrat de travail")

International Labor and Employment Law Committee Newsletter | December 2007
FRANCE

http://www.abanet.org/labor/intlcomm/newsletter/2007/12/dec-...

French Supreme Court Clarifies the Requirements Relating to Restrictive Non-Compete Covenants

Three 2007 decisions from the Labor Law Division of the French Supreme Court clarified requirements applicable to employers with respect to restrictive covenants not to compete:
When neither the collective bargaining agreement nor the employment contract specifies the time-period for employer waiver of the restrictive covenant not to compete, the employer may waive it within a reasonable time-frame even if the clause has already taken effect;
In a reversal of prior decisions, Court specified that the financial consideration which must be paid to the employee when the restrictive covenant is enforced cannot be paid to the employee during the employment relationship. The consideration must now be paid once the employment relationship has ended;
If a settlement agreement signed after termination of the employment relationship does not deal with the contractual restrictive covenant and if the covenant has not been waived, the employee is entitled to the payment of the financial consideration.
The three decisions of the French labor court are related to one of the four conditions required to make a covenant enforceable, i.e., financial compensation. Under French labor law, restrictive covenants not to compete are enforceable if:
they do not unreasonably restrict the legitimate rights of the employee to find a new job;
they are reasonably limited in time and place;
they are limited to what is reasonably necessary to protect the employer's business; and
they provide for financial compensation to the employee.
June 13 Decision
In this decision, the employee had acknowledged the termination of his employment contract on October 21, 2000 and had asked his employer to confirm its position vis-à-vis the restrictive covenant, i.e., to indicate whether it planned to require the employee to observe the covenant, since under French law employers are able to waive enforcement of a covenant and thereby avoid paying the specified financial compensation, which can be quite high. Subsequently the employer waived the restrictive covenant not to compete on November 20, 2000. The employee, considering that he had already suffered a detriment in that he had relied on the covenant that the employer subsequently decided to waive enforcement of, sued the employer in the labor courts.
The French Supreme Court decided that in the absence of any provisions in the collective bargaining agreement or in the employment contract specifying the procedure for waiving the restrictive covenant, the employer must notify the employee within a reasonable timeframe its intention to waive the non-compete, and ruled that the waiver had taken place in a timely manner.
The pre-requisite of a "reasonable time-frame" does not per se constitute a change in French case law but the decision is quite interesting nevertheless for several reasons:
(i) The Court specified when the reasonable time-frame starts: The Court ruled that the time-frame to waive the restrictive covenant runs from the time the employer was aware of the employee acting to terminate the contract. This is all the more interesting because it is the first decision rendered concerning a new type of termination of the employment contract called "employees' acknowledgement of the contract termination" ("prise d'acte de rupture du contrat de travail"): in addition to the long-recognized types of terminating the employment contract (i.e. resignation or dismissal) the French Supreme Court has accepted, and has confirmed as recently as May 9, 2007, that a new type of termination exists, more or less equivalent to the U.S. concept of constructive discharge. This termination takes place when the employee informs the employer that because of the employer's behavior (e.g. bullying, failure to pay the employee, etc.), the employee is forced to consider the employment contract terminated due to the employer's fault. In such a case, not only is the employee deemed not to have resigned but, quite to the contrary, is considered as having been wrongfully dismissed and is entitled to all dismissal indemnities. However, in most such cases the French unemployment Agency will not pay unemployment benefits to the employee, at least until the employee gets a court decision ruling that the employee should be considered as having been abusively terminated.
Selected response from:

mohanv
India
Local time: 09:58
Grading comment
thanks
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 -1"[employees'] acknowledgement [of the contract termination"]
mohanv
2acknowledgement
Antonio Tomás Lessa do Amaral
2taking note of
mimi 254
Summary of reference entries provided
French exception?
RemiC
"employees' acknowledgement of the contract termination"
mohanv
For posterity
Peter Shortall

Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
acknowledgement


Explanation:
suggestion

Antonio Tomás Lessa do Amaral
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
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13 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
taking note of


Explanation:
a try: ...this resignation is established by taking act of the breach of contract...

prendre acte: take acte of = constater expressé ment et avec l'effet de droit s'attachant à cette constatation... (Termium)

mimi 254
Local time: 05:28
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 78
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4 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
"[employees'] acknowledgement [of the contract termination"]


Explanation:
"employees' acknowledgement of the contract termination" ("prise d'acte de rupture du contrat de travail")

International Labor and Employment Law Committee Newsletter | December 2007
FRANCE

http://www.abanet.org/labor/intlcomm/newsletter/2007/12/dec-...

French Supreme Court Clarifies the Requirements Relating to Restrictive Non-Compete Covenants

Three 2007 decisions from the Labor Law Division of the French Supreme Court clarified requirements applicable to employers with respect to restrictive covenants not to compete:
When neither the collective bargaining agreement nor the employment contract specifies the time-period for employer waiver of the restrictive covenant not to compete, the employer may waive it within a reasonable time-frame even if the clause has already taken effect;
In a reversal of prior decisions, Court specified that the financial consideration which must be paid to the employee when the restrictive covenant is enforced cannot be paid to the employee during the employment relationship. The consideration must now be paid once the employment relationship has ended;
If a settlement agreement signed after termination of the employment relationship does not deal with the contractual restrictive covenant and if the covenant has not been waived, the employee is entitled to the payment of the financial consideration.
The three decisions of the French labor court are related to one of the four conditions required to make a covenant enforceable, i.e., financial compensation. Under French labor law, restrictive covenants not to compete are enforceable if:
they do not unreasonably restrict the legitimate rights of the employee to find a new job;
they are reasonably limited in time and place;
they are limited to what is reasonably necessary to protect the employer's business; and
they provide for financial compensation to the employee.
June 13 Decision
In this decision, the employee had acknowledged the termination of his employment contract on October 21, 2000 and had asked his employer to confirm its position vis-à-vis the restrictive covenant, i.e., to indicate whether it planned to require the employee to observe the covenant, since under French law employers are able to waive enforcement of a covenant and thereby avoid paying the specified financial compensation, which can be quite high. Subsequently the employer waived the restrictive covenant not to compete on November 20, 2000. The employee, considering that he had already suffered a detriment in that he had relied on the covenant that the employer subsequently decided to waive enforcement of, sued the employer in the labor courts.
The French Supreme Court decided that in the absence of any provisions in the collective bargaining agreement or in the employment contract specifying the procedure for waiving the restrictive covenant, the employer must notify the employee within a reasonable timeframe its intention to waive the non-compete, and ruled that the waiver had taken place in a timely manner.
The pre-requisite of a "reasonable time-frame" does not per se constitute a change in French case law but the decision is quite interesting nevertheless for several reasons:
(i) The Court specified when the reasonable time-frame starts: The Court ruled that the time-frame to waive the restrictive covenant runs from the time the employer was aware of the employee acting to terminate the contract. This is all the more interesting because it is the first decision rendered concerning a new type of termination of the employment contract called "employees' acknowledgement of the contract termination" ("prise d'acte de rupture du contrat de travail"): in addition to the long-recognized types of terminating the employment contract (i.e. resignation or dismissal) the French Supreme Court has accepted, and has confirmed as recently as May 9, 2007, that a new type of termination exists, more or less equivalent to the U.S. concept of constructive discharge. This termination takes place when the employee informs the employer that because of the employer's behavior (e.g. bullying, failure to pay the employee, etc.), the employee is forced to consider the employment contract terminated due to the employer's fault. In such a case, not only is the employee deemed not to have resigned but, quite to the contrary, is considered as having been wrongfully dismissed and is entitled to all dismissal indemnities. However, in most such cases the French unemployment Agency will not pay unemployment benefits to the employee, at least until the employee gets a court decision ruling that the employee should be considered as having been abusively terminated.

mohanv
India
Local time: 09:58
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in TamilTamil
PRO pts in category: 23
Grading comment
thanks

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Sarah Russell: Although it is years since this question was posted, should it not be something like 'court-ordered contract termination at employee's request' according to the following?: https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F24409
4390 days
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Reference comments


43 mins
Reference: French exception?

Reference information:
It's a very special way for a French employee to breach their contract.

http://www.juritravail.com/demission/prise-acte-rupture-par-...

Good luck with the translation... :-P

RemiC
France
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
neutral  Fr-EnD: Excellent intervention by RemiC in the sense that it's a potent reminder : don't accept a translation unless you have the specialized knowledge you need.
1 hr
neutral  Melissa McMahon: Good ref, but I don't see anything in it that suggests "prise d'acte" is anything but the noun of "prendre acte de" - can you explain what is special about the term? Nb. clearly not a way to breach a contract, but to declare that breach
4 hrs
  -> First sentence here: http://www.legipme.com/droit-travail/fiches-pratiques/gerer-...
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1 day 9 hrs
Reference: "employees' acknowledgement of the contract termination"

Reference information:
"employees' acknowledgement of the contract termination" ("prise d'acte de rupture du contrat de travail")

International Labor and Employment Law Committee Newsletter | December 2007
FRANCE

http://www.abanet.org/labor/intlcomm/newsletter/2007/12/dec-...


French Supreme Court Clarifies the Requirements Relating to Restrictive Non-Compete Covenants


Three 2007 decisions from the Labor Law Division of the French Supreme Court clarified requirements applicable to employers with respect to restrictive covenants not to compete:
When neither the collective bargaining agreement nor the employment contract specifies the time-period for employer waiver of the restrictive covenant not to compete, the employer may waive it within a reasonable timeframe even if the clause has already taken effect;1
In a reversal of prior decisions, Court specified that the financial consideration which must be paid to the employee when the restrictive covenant is enforced cannot be paid to the employee during the employment relationship. The consideration must now be paid once the employment relationship has ended;2
If a settlement agreement signed after termination of the employment relationship does not deal with the contractual restrictive covenant and if the covenant has not been waived, the employee is entitled to the payment of the financial consideration.3
The three decisions of the French labor court are related to one of the four conditions required to make a covenant enforceable, i.e., financial compensation. Under French labor law, restrictive covenants not to compete are enforceable if:
they do not unreasonably restrict the legitimate rights of the employee to find a new job;
they are reasonably limited in time and place;
they are limited to what is reasonably necessary to protect the employer's business; and
they provide for financial compensation to the employee.
June 13 Decision
In this decision, the employee had acknowledged the termination of his employment contract on October 21, 2000 and had asked his employer to confirm its position vis-à-vis the restrictive covenant, i.e., to indicate whether it planned to require the employee to observe the covenant, since under French law employers are able to waive enforcement of a covenant and thereby avoid paying the specified financial compensation, which can be quite high. Subsequently the employer waived the restrictive covenant not to compete on November 20, 2000. The employee, considering that he had already suffered a detriment in that he had relied on the covenant that the employer subsequently decided to waive enforcement of, sued the employer in the labor courts.
The French Supreme Court decided that in the absence of any provisions in the collective bargaining agreement or in the employment contract specifying the procedure for waiving the restrictive covenant, the employer must notify the employee within a reasonable timeframe its intention to waive the non-compete, and ruled that the waiver had taken place in a timely manner.
The pre-requisite of a "reasonable timeframe" does not per se constitute a change in French case law but the decision is quite interesting nevertheless for several reasons:
(i) The Court specified when the reasonable timeframe starts: The Court ruled that the timeframe to waive the restrictive covenant runs from the time the employer was aware of the employee acting to terminate the contract. This is all the more interesting because it is the first decision rendered concerning a new type of termination of the employment contract called "employees' acknowledgement of the contract termination" ("prise d'acte de rupture du contrat de travail"): in addition to the long-recognized types of terminating the employment contract (i.e. resignation or dismissal) the French Supreme Court has accepted, and has confirmed as recently as May 9, 2007, that a new type of termination exists, more or less equivalent to the U.S. concept of constructive discharge. This termination takes place when the employee informs the employer that because of the employer's behavior (e.g. bullying, failure to pay the employee, etc.), the employee is forced to consider the employment contract terminated due to the employer's fault. In such a case, not only is the employee deemed not to have resigned but, quite to the contrary, is considered as having been wrongfully dismissed and is entitled to all dismissal indemnities. However, in most such cases the French unemployment Agency will not pay unemployment benefits to the employee, at least until the employee gets a court decision ruling that the employee should be considered as having been abusively terminated.

mohanv
India
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in TamilTamil
PRO pts in category: 23
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1934 days peer agreement (net): +1
Reference: For posterity

Reference information:
There are two good explanations below. "Notice of self-termination" would be my suggested translation; it's a situation where an employee believes that his/her employer has breached contractual obligations and takes the employer to an employment tribunal to ask a judge to acknowledge that the employer has committed a breach. The employer asks the tribunal to reclassify (in French, "requalifier") the termination as dismissal without due cause - but the tribunal may side with the employer and classify it as resignation if it finds that no breach was in fact committed.

"Employees can self-terminate their contract of employment under the mechanism known as "prise d'acte de rupture" if they believe that the employer has breached its contractual obligations (e.g., supply of agreed work, payment of salary, etc.). The Labour Court will then decide whether the termination amounts to a dismissal without cause or to a resignation."
http://www.iclg.co.uk/practice-areas/employment-and-labour-l...

"Créée par la Cour de cassation le 25 septembre 2002, « la prise d’acte » de la rupture de contrat de travail ressemble à la démission, car c’est le salarié qui décide de rompre son contrat à durée indéterminée. Mais il n’en est rien : car s’il prend l’initiative de la rupture, le salarié en impute la responsabilité à son employeur qui, par ses graves manquements, l’aurait contraint à quitter l’entreprise. Evidemment, ce dernier accepte rarement ces griefs ou en conteste la gravité.

« Prendre acte » se termine donc devant les conseils de prud’hommes, qui se prononcent dix, voire vingt mois plus tard."
http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2014/03/17/qu-est-ce-...

Peter Shortall
United Kingdom
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  Sarah Russell: I agree Peter. I've just come across the following website which supports your suggestion (which is also more concise than my above suggestion): https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F24409
2459 days
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