Law Club: how to successfully terminate an employment contract

Is it preferable for an employee to part ways with their employer on amicable terms? Yes, of course! But at what price?

This was the subject of the fascinating hybrid conference held at the Radisson Blu in Lyon on 9 November. The subject was presented and developed by Pierre Doitrand (SKEMA 1992), a lawyer specialising in employment contract terminations and the co-founder of Legal Quantum. Pierre is an expert in his field and a SKEMA alumnus.

A number of alumni got the chance to attend this conference either in person or virtually, to hear the secrets our speaker had to share. Pierre presented his unique method for pricing a termination in order to negotiate the best amicable agreements, while also explaining the main termination techniques and their distinct effects on the price. Below are some of the key points discussed during this event.

Pierre introduced his talk by explaining that "A successful amicable separation requires reaching an agreement on price, since the employee wants a high price and the employer wants the lowest.”

"The best way to reach an agreement is to know the objective value of the termination price."

He went on to explain the two components to take into account when calculating this value; namely, the certainty of the relative weight of the legally required and contractual severance payments, as well as the supra-legal indemnity. "It will always be in the employee's interest to negotiate only the supra-legal indemnity, and it will always be in the employer's interest to make a global offer. Pierre illustrated his points with examples of contract termination techniques — some widely known and others more obscure — along with their financial impact: resignation, contractual termination, dismissal for gross misconduct, dismissal for professional incompetence, judicial termination, and judicial rescission.

Before wrapping up with a Q&A session, Pierre presented the certified jurimetric pricing tool he uses with Legal Quantum. The aim of this tool is to calculate the expected value of the supra-legal indemnity or, in other words, to measure the chances of obtaining more or fewer months of salary when an employment contract is terminated.

Many thanks to our alumni who helped make the evening a success: Solène Dantressangle (SKEMA 2014), Vincent Dubois (SKEMA 2004), Xavier Graff (SKEMA 2007), Vincent Guillebaud (SKEMA 2018), Carolyne Labben (SKEMA 2018), Aurélie Louchart (SKEMA 2013), Jeremie Masneuf (SKEMA 2015), Hadrien Mettetal (SKEMA 2016), Sandrine Maire (SKEMA 1992), Philippe Pierlot (SKEMA 2007). Thanks also to Fabienne Buon, SKEMA Alumni Network and Events Coordinator, for organising the event.

Don't miss our next SKEMA Alumni events focusing on topics that could boost your career or allow you to learn from people who are experts in their field!