A conventional termination is not void when the employer was assisted by a third-party during the meetings, except if the non-assisted employee has been constrained
In a decision dd. 5th June 2019 (case No. 18-10.901), the French Court of Cassation judged a case in which an employee requested a conventional termination to be declared void.
The employee claimed he had not been informed about his right to be assisted during the meetings prior to the signature of the conventional termination.
The employee went to the meetings alone while the employer enjoyed assistance by a third-party.
For the Court of Cassation, the absence of assistance of the employee would not affect the validity of the conventional termination, except if the employee can prove he has been constrained by the employer who was assisted – no such constraint has been proven in the case at hand.