Licencier

Licencier is a French verb meaning to dismiss an employee or to terminate their employment by the employer. It is a transitive verb and is used with a direct object, as in licencier un salarié. The related noun licenciement denotes the act or process of such dismissal.

In everyday language, licencier is contrasted with démission (when the employee resigns) and with congédier, renvoyer, or mettre à la porte, which are synonyms or near-synonyms depending on formality and context. Licencier can be for reason of fault (pour faute) or for economic reasons (pour motif économique). The term is commonly used in workplaces, public institutions, and unions.

Legal and procedural context varies by country. In France, for example, a dismissal must be for a real and serious cause and must respect a formal procedure, including a prior meeting (entretien préalable) and a notice period. Economic dismissals require specific grounds linked to the company’s situation. Dismissed employees may be entitled to financial indemnities and potential opportunities for reclassification, and they can challenge the decision before the labor courts (conseil de prud'hommes). Similar frameworks exist in other jurisdictions, where the employer generally bears the burden to justify the dismissal and to observe notice, severance, and potential remedies.

Etymology traces licencier to the concept of license or permission, reflecting the historical idea of releasing someone from service. The term has been used in French professional language since the Middle Ages to denote the end of an employment relationship by the employer.

See also: licenciement, congé, démission.